Please contact UW-Whitewater Coach Tim Fader at fadert@uww.edu for more information:

Division III wrestling coaches and athletes
We have perhaps the best wrestling cultural exchange trip planned to date for the summer of 2014! The trip is run by George Kalchev, former Bulgarian world silver medalist and owner of George Camps and Tours. Please see his website at georgecamps.com. Division III sent 19 coaches and wrestlers to Bulgaria last summer for three competitions and training with several clubs. Some of the highlights were training and competing against the Bulgarian Junior National Team in the Gila Mountain resort town of Bansko. We also finished our trip in an international tournament in Varna, along the Black Sea. I will send a video for you to view and show your team about last year’s trip. Coach Bill Racich was the Head Coach and is a great resource for those of you with questions about the trip.

I urge you to hand out my name, email and phone number to anyone on your team that would have interest in this Cultural Exchange trip. Please send out the attached application to your team email list. I typically talk to a lot of coaches and parents in preparing the team to send over. I need to get the process started as I just received the details of the trip and have to start getting deposits early as we leave earlier than we did in 2013. Deposits are $300 and it locks you into the price advertised. The later the deposit, the more likely the ticket prices go up. If you have interest in being on the coaching staff, please fill out the application for such positions—head coach and assistant coach. Both positions receive a stipend from the NWCA as partial payment of their trip.

This year we are planning on visiting 4 countries—France (sightseeing only), Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. We would have several chances to compete against very strong clubs in each country other than France. There are a lot of off the mat sights and cultural events that are a highlight of this trip as well! The trip is schedule to leave the US on May 27 or 28 returning June 8 for a cost of $2988. This cost includes everything once you are on that airplane—three full meals a day, all travel expenses including airfare and ground travel in those countries, hotel (four star in most cases), all practices and training events, entry fees to sightseeing and events etc. I can’t believe the value of this trip as it would be very difficult to do the trip yourself for even close the cost. The food is tremendous and the wrestling and off the mat experiences are even better. It will have a very big impact on any athlete or coach that goes on the summer of 2014 trip!!