The media accreditation process for the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling has started, as of April 1, 2003.    The World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling will be held in the world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York City, 12-14 September, 2003. The world's best men and women freestyle wrestlers will come to New York to battle for World titles and medals.    This tournament is a qualifying event for the 2004 Olympic Games, adding additional importance to the competition. It will also be a showcase of the athletes expected to win medals in wrestling at the Athens Olympic Games next year. It will display the newest Olympic sport in the Summer Games, women's freestyle wrestling, which makes its Olympic debut in Athens.    The event will be hosted by NYC2012, the U.S. bid city for the 2012 Olympic Games. The citizens of New York City are looking forward to putting on a world-class competition in the world's most famous sports arena.    A World Championships accreditation form has been created that all interested media must fill out and send in to USA Wrestling to be considered for credentials. Each individual journalist must fill out their own application form. A PDF file of this accreditation form is attached for journalists to print out and send in.    There will be a limit on the number of credentials issued for these championships, so journalists are asked to send in their requests as soon as possible. USA Wrestling will begin issuing acceptance letters for approved journalist requests on May 15, and will approve others after that date on a continuing basis.    Some journalists may be placed on a waiting list, pending space availability in Madison Square Garden. Priority will be given to major national and international media outlets, New York area media outlets, as well as journalists that have covered Olympic sports and/or wrestling on a regular basis.    Those journalists seeking visa support must send in their accreditation form, along with their passport number, year of birth, place of birth and passport expiration date to USA Wrestling before 1 June 2003. This is very important in order to allow sufficient time for the visa approval process.    Journalists will be required to make their own housing arrangement for the championships. The official media hotel of the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling is the Martinque, located at 49 West 32nd Street and Broadway in downtown Manhattan. This is a beautiful hotel, just two blocks from Madison Square Garden. The rate is $179.00 per night, single or double, plus tax.    To book a room at the Martinique, journalists must contact Total Travel Management by phone at 516-222-9229 or via email at ttmny@ix.netcom.com    Additional hotel options are available to journalists by request from Total Travel Management.    New York City was selected to host the 2001 World Championships of Wrestling in September of 2001, but after the 9/11 attacks on the city and nation, the event was postponed then relocated to Europe. NYC2102, USA Wrestling and the international wrestling federation FILA are excited about the opportunity to host the event in New York City this year.    The press chief for the 2003 World Championships of Wrestling is Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling. Those with questions or needs should contact Mr. Abbott  by phone at 719-598-8181 or e-mail at gabbott@usawrestling.org.    Click here for PDF of World Championships Media Accreditation form