The Karakucak Wrestling Festival, organized for the first time this year by the Atatürk University Sports Club, was held with intense participation. While it is observed that interest in karakucak wrestling, which is among the rich cultural heritage and traditional sports of the Turkish nation, is increasing every year, the opening speech of the festival was made by Atatürk University Rector Prof. Dr. Ömer Çomaklı. Rector Çomaklı stated that the university aims to contribute to the social development of students and to keep traditional sports alive with such events.

Intense Interest in the Festival Held for the First Time

The festival, which was held at the Atatürk University Stadium under the leadership of Atatürk University Sports Club and with the contributions of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Turkish Traditional Wrestling Federation, Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality, and the Erzurum Champion Wrestlers Association, was attended by many wrestling enthusiasts from Erzurum and surrounding provinces. In the event, which attracted intense interest from mayors, public institution managers, representatives of non-governmental organizations, local people, academics, students and athletes, participants had the opportunity to closely watch traditional karakucak wrestling. Karakucak wrestling is considered one of the cornerstones of historical Turkish wrestling sports, and the organization of festivals, which play an important role in keeping this sport alive, is of great importance in this sense.

Fierce Competitions

The wrestling competitions organized within the scope of the festival were followed with great excitement. In the competitions held in different age and weight categories, the athletes demonstrated their skills and received great applause from the audience. Karakucak wrestling is a type of wrestling performed by hugging the opponent's waist, and the main aim is to knock the opponent on his back. In this sense, the technical skills of the wrestlers came to the fore as much as their physical strength. While the audience witnessed the fierce struggle of the athletes during the competitions, the melodies played by the traditional drum-zurna team added a different color to the event. The wrestling matches, which were the scene of great excitement at every moment, were among the memories that the audience will not forget for a long time.

Rector Çomaklı: "Keeping Traditional Sports Alive is an Important Responsibility"

Rector Prof. Dr. Ömer Çomaklı: “Welcome to the 1st Karakucak Wrestling Festival organized by our university and Atatürk University Sports Club. Atatürk University Sports Club, which was founded in 1995, has been actively operating for a long time. Our sports club has gained great momentum with the activities it has carried out recently. We are watching with great pleasure that Atatürk University Sports Club is currently actively carrying out successful activities in many areas such as football, tennis, climbing, curling and so on. In this context, we are all witnessing that a university sports club is organizing the Karakucak Wrestling Festival for the first time in Turkey. I believe that this event will set an example for many universities. I have full faith that these and similar festivals will become a tradition.”

Rector Çomaklı, who stated that Atatürk University has always supported sports and athletes and mobilized all its resources to keep ancestral sports alive, said: “I would like to thank the esteemed president of Atatürk University Sports Club, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İzzet Uçan and his team for their devoted work. I would also like to thank the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, Erzurum Youth and Sports Provincial Director and our very valuable sponsors for their support in the realization of this festival. On this occasion, I wish success to our wrestlers who will compete in Ermeydani here today. I wish the 1st Karakucak Wrestling Festival to be auspicious and auspicious for all parties, and I greet everyone with affection.” He concluded his speech with the words.

President Uçan: "We Will Host Many National and International Events"

The esteemed president of Atatürk University Sports Club, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İzzet Uçan, emphasized that such events strengthen the ties between the university and the society. Uçan expressed the importance Atatürk University attaches to traditional sports with the following words: “Karakucak wrestling is an important sport that the Turkish nation has kept alive for centuries. The transfer of this sport to future generations is of great importance in terms of preserving our cultural heritage. Our university supports both the popularization of sports and the social and cultural development of our students with such events.”

Expressing that they are very proud and happy to host the beginning of such an important event as Atatürk University and to have realized a first among universities, President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uçan stated that this is a beginning and that they will carry out many events that will make a splash in the national and international arena in the future and thanked all stakeholders, especially Rector Prof. Dr. Ömer Çomaklı, for their support.

Young Wrestlers Gave Hope to the Future

The young wrestlers who participated in the festival,