The XVII Senior Pan American Wrestling Championships, set to take place March 18-23, 2003  in Guatamala City, will serve as the qualifying event for the 2003 Pan-American Games.    FILA, the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, voted to make the Pan-American Championships a qualifier in order to limit the number of wrestlers at the Pan-American Games. Wrestlers must finish in the top eight of their weight class at the Pan-American Championships in order to qualify for the Pan-American Games.     USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson disagrees with FILA's decision, stating that "with a games event, all countries should be invited and able to participate."     Prior to this year, national teams were selected by their respective countries to participate in the Pan-American Games. This new change means athletes will have to work harder than ever before to earn a spot at this prestigious event.     "This qualifier event throws a new twist to the U.S. National Teams schedule," Jackson added. "We had not thought about or prepared for a qualifier event, but now that the decision has been made, we will focus on what we need to do to qualify in every weight class."    Jackson is confident that requiring pre-qualification for the Pan-American Games will not affect the overall outcome.     "No matter what, the best athletes will win," he said.    The Senior Pan-American Wrestling Championships will feature Greco-Roman, men's freestyle and women's freestyle wrestling. In the women's division, all seven FILA weight classes will compete but only the four weight classes established by FILA to compete in the 2004 Olympic Games (48 kg/105.5 lbs., 55 kg/121 lbs., 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and 72 kg/158.5 lbs.) will participate in the Pan American Games.    The XIV Pan American Games are to be held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic August 1-17, 2003.