Girl wrestler from New Mexico stepping up to #TakeAStance during a USA Wrestling clinic in Albuquerque. Patricia Fox photo

New social media campaign will enlist the help of wrestlers and fans all over the world

August 7, 2013 – The global wrestling community is coming together once again, this time across various forms of social media as the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) and FILA launch the #TakeAStance campaign.

The international governing body of wrestling and the group focused on keeping wrestling in the Olympic Games are encouraging wrestlers, fans and supporters all over the world to post images via social media platforms of themselves, their friends or teammates, in the classic wrestling stance. 

Participants can then post their photos post the images to various social media platforms including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and more with the hashtag #TakeAStance. Fans are also encouraged to Like FILA Wrestling on Facebook and Follow @FILA_Official on Twitter. Fans can also email their photos to takeastancewrestling@gmail.com. 

“The #TakeAStance initiative is a way for the wrestling community all over the world to show their support for Olympic wrestling,” said CPOW Chairman Bill Scherr. “No matter where you are from we all use the same iconic wrestling stance as our universal language and we hope this will show the IOC and the world that all wrestlers stand together to save the sport.”

Fans young and old can post photos of themselves in their best wrestling stance anywhere from an iconic landmark or setting to a high school gymnasium wrestling room to show the global support for the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement. The #TakeAStance hashtag will be monitored by USA Wrestling, CPOW and FILA to help amplify the followings of all of those who participate in the movement. 

In addition to the photo initiative, FILA is offering the wrestling community another way to #TakeAStance. FILA recently launched a Thunderclap drive here

Thunderclap is a social media tool that allows users to donate one post and/or tweet to amplify their cause through one unified message shared by multiple users. On Wednesday, August 12th, at 12 noon EST, across hundreds of unique Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr accounts, the message “Did you know YOU can help Save Olympic Wrestling? Help me spread the word today” will be shared in unison, creating a swell of support to keep wrestling in the Olympic Games.

The #TakeAStance movement will run from the now until the final vote at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 8th.  For the latest information on the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement, visit the official FILA website (http://www.fila-official.com/), follow them on Twitter @FILA_Official, or ‘like’ their Facebook page. 

ABOUT CPOW
The Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) was developed by USA Wrestling, whose mission is to insure that wrestling remains as a core sport of the Olympic Games. CPOW features many highly-respected leaders within the American wrestling, chaired by Bill Scherr of Glenview, Ill., a World champion and Olympic medalist in freestyle wrestling and a leader in the Olympic family.

The official website is http://www.KeepOlympicWrestling.com. You can find the official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/officialkeepwrestlingintheolympics. The official Twitter location is @wrestlingvision.