Beach Wrestling
A United World Wrestling discipline on sand. Standing only, in a circle seven metres in diameter, one period of three minutes, the first wrestler with three points wins.
Quick Facts
SwitzerlandCharacter & Origin
Training
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Beach Wrestling
About Beach Wrestling
Beach wrestling is a United World Wrestling (UWW) discipline wrestled standing on sand. Wrestling on sand is a much older custom than any rulebook, but the international federation, then FILA, accepted it as a competition style with its own rules by a congress vote on 20 August 2004 in Athens. The first world championship, according to UWW, took place in 2006 in Antalya, until 2010 for seniors only. The federation amended the rules in 2015 and since 2019 the Beach Wrestling World Series has been running.
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The World Series rules (March 2026 version) are short. Wrestling takes place in a circle seven metres in diameter, marked by tape, with a layer of fine sand at least thirty centimetres deep. A match has a single period of three minutes without a break and ends earlier, as soon as one wrestler gets three points. One point is for bringing any part of the opponent's body except the hands to the ground or for getting the opponent out of the circle, three points for a sweep or throw after which the opponent lands on the back. At 0:0 after a minute and a half, the referee names the passive wrestler. Compared with freestyle wrestling, par terre is missing: the whole match is wrestled standing, in grips and in a fight for balance on an unstable surface. Competitors wear competition shorts or swimwear, without footwear. The World Series senior weights are 70, 80, 90 and over 90 kg for men and 50, 60, 70 and over 70 kg for women, and the other categories are U15, U17 and U20. The discipline was on the programme of the ANOC World Beach Games in Doha in 2019 and of the Asian Beach Games, and it is included in the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar 2026.
History
Wrestling on sand is older than any rulebook, but modern beach wrestling has an exact date: the congress of the international federation FILA accepted it among its styles by a vote on 20 August 2004 in Athens. According to a USA Wrestling report, the 2004 rules provided for a circle six metres in diameter, two weight types (light and heavy) without weigh-ins, and a win by fall, throw or push out of the area. In a letter from president Raphael Martinetti of 4 October 2005, the federation announced a world championship in Antalya, Turkey, for 13 to 15 October 2006, which UWW now lists as the first world championship. Until 2010 only seniors competed, and from 2011 seniors have four weight categories per sex (men 70, 80, 90 kg and heavyweight, women 50, 60, 70 kg and heavyweight). In 2015 UWW amended the international rules and in 2019 it introduced the Beach Wrestling World Series.
How it differs
The UWW freestyle wrestling rules state in their introduction that beach wrestling follows special rules, and the differences are fundamental. Freestyle wrestling has two periods of three minutes and is also wrestled par terre, beach wrestling has a single three-minute period and only standing wrestling. Freestyle ends with a fall, technical superiority at a ten-point difference or on points, beach wrestling ends once a wrestler gets three points. Freestyle scores actions with one, two, four and five points on a mat nine metres across, beach wrestling only one and three points, on sand in a circle seven metres across. Instead of a singlet, wrestlers wear shorts or swimwear, without footwear. Beach wrestling itself has changed since its adoption in 2004: the rules then had a circle six metres across, two weight types without weigh-ins and a win by fall, throw or push out, today's have a seven-metre circle, four weight categories and weigh-ins.
Technique
The Beach Wrestling World Series rules (March 2026 version) set a single period of three minutes for all age categories. Wrestling takes place only standing, and the legs may be used in all actions. The area is a circle seven metres in diameter marked by a contrasting tape eight to ten centimetres wide without metal parts, and the layer of fine sand without stones and shells is at least thirty centimetres deep.
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Scoring (Art. 13) has only two values. One point goes to a wrestler who brings any part of the opponent's body except the hands to the ground or gets the opponent out of the competition area with a part of the body. Three points go for a sweep or throw after which the opponent ends up with the back on the ground, and the first wrestler with three points wins (Art. 16). At the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games, ANOC described an exception for both hands and feet and UWW listed two points for a throw to the back, while today's rules have only hands and three points. At 0:0 after a minute and a half, the referee must name the passive wrestler, who has thirty seconds after the second offence to score a point, otherwise the opponent gets the point (Art. 19). If video review is set up, each wrestler has two video challenge requests per tournament (Art. 18). Senior categories are 70, 80, 90 and over 90 kg for men and 50, 60, 70 and over 70 kg for women, seniors compete from age 20 (from 18 with a medical certificate), and no more than three wrestlers from one federation may be in a category (Art. 4). Competitors wear competition shorts or swimwear, and footwear is forbidden (Art. 5).
Ranks and progression
Beach wrestling has no belts or grades. The path runs through the age categories U15 (boys 45 to 75 kg, girls 40 to 65 kg), U17 (boys 60 to 90 kg, girls 45 to 75 kg), U20 and seniors, whose categories are set by Art. 4 of the rules and Annex 3. Seeding is decided by the Beach Wrestling World Series ranking in four men's (70, 80, 90, over 90 kg) and four women's (50, 60, 70, over 70 kg) categories: there is no draw, and seeding is taken from the ranking (Art. 9).
Today
Beach wrestling is governed by United World Wrestling, based in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. The 2026 Beach Wrestling World Series had five stops: Da Nang (9 and 10 May), Poreč (30 and 31 May), Batumi (20 and 21 June), Baku (28 and 29 August) and Katerini (26 and 27 September). The last stop, in Katerini, Greece, was also the 2026 world championship and, according to UWW, had an all-time high of 97 registered wrestlers from 18 countries (58 men and 39 women), with the United States sending the largest delegation of 23 wrestlers. Outside the series, the discipline was on the programme of the first ANOC World Beach Games in Doha in 2019 and earlier of the Asian Beach Games (Phuket 2014, Vietnam 2016). It is not in the programme of the Summer Olympic Games: at the congress on 27 October 2024, the UWW president said that the IOC did not consider it when deciding on additional sports in 2023, while it is in the programme of the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar with gender parity (31 October to 13 November 2026).
Did you know
Muhammad Inam of Pakistan became the first Pakistani world champion in any form of wrestling in 2017 in Dalyan, Turkey, defended the 90 kg title in 2018, and in 2019 won the first gold in beach wrestling at the World Beach Games in Doha, defeating the Georgian Data Marsagishvili 5:3 in the final. At the 2026 world championship in Katerini, the four-time world champion Levan Kelekhsashvili of Georgia and the three-time world champion Eliana Bommarito of the United States competed.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a beach wrestling match last?
A single period of three minutes in all age categories. The match ends earlier, as soon as one wrestler gets three points.
How are actions scored in beach wrestling?
One point is for bringing any part of the opponent's body except the hands to the ground or getting the opponent out of the circle, three points for a sweep or throw after which the opponent lands on the back.
Is beach wrestling an Olympic sport?
It is not in the programme of the Summer Olympic Games, and according to UWW the IOC did not consider it in 2023. It is included in the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar 2026, which take place from 31 October to 13 November 2026.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.