USA Wrestling is pleased to announce that it surpassed its goal of signing up 400 Founding Partners by New Years Day.    After going through the holiday mail and processing its online membership forms, the final number of Founding Partners came in at 436 members. USA Wrestling thanks all the wrestling people who responded to its holiday-season campaign for making the decision to join the organization.    Those who joined USA Wrestling as a Partner by the end of the 2001 calendar year are being recognized forever as a Founding Partner. The final list of Founding Partner members is now posted on the internet on USAWrestling.org, and will also be listed in a special section of the next issue of USA Wrestler.    "USA Wrestling is pleased that we have gone over the 400 mark for Founding Partners," said Rich Bender, Executive Director of USA Wrestling. "This special group of wrestling people from across the nation have helped us successfully launch this new program."    USA Wrestling created this new membership program to encourage individuals who enjoy wrestling to stay involved and active in the sport, year after year.     Each Partner receives a membership card, a year subscription to USA Wrestler, a Partner gift, a discount on USA Wrestling merchandise, access to the USA Wrestling Member-only web site, and a decal. More importantly, they have an opportunity to support the sport that they love. Annual dues are just $30.    Partners are from all levels of wrestling, all who share an interest in wrestling and wish to stay involved and support the sport. Every Partner has a personal involvement in the sport, or a desire to help build wrestling.    USA Wrestling is now moving into its 2002 Partner Membership Drive. Building from the momentum provided by the Founding Partners, USA Wrestling will continue to reach out to encourage more people to actively join the Partner program.    You can become a Partner by going to the online membership form on USAWrestling.org or TheMat.com, or by filling out a Partner membership form published in each issue of USA Wrestler magazine.    All Partners that sign up during the 2002 calendar year will be recognized as Charter members of the Partner program. This will be the first full year of the Partner program, which is designed to unify the wrestling community and strengthen the sport. The "Partner Class of 2002" will help USA Wrestling to establish this network of wrestling people and create a legacy for the sport into the new century."    "We believe that 2002 will be a very important year for USA Wrestling and the entire sport," said Bender. "We expect our Partner program to multiply in size during the new calendar year. All those who love the sport of wrestling are encouraged to join the growing family of USA Wrestling Partners. We expect our Charter class to be large and diverse."    updated list of Founding Partners