Italian Absolute Wrestling Championships

The premier event of Italian wrestling

The Italian Absolute Wrestling Championships are the annual event where the national titles for Olympic wrestling are decided. The venue is the PalaPellicone, the arena at the FIJLKAM Olympic Center in Ostia, located in the coastal district of the Municipality of Rome, in the heart of the Lazio region's sporting scene. This is where the Italian national teams train, and where the entire Italian wrestling community gathers for a winter weekend.

Three disciplines, thirty titles

The program covers the three disciplines recognized by the Olympic program: men's freestyle, women's wrestling, and Greco-Roman. Ten titles are awarded for each style, one for every weight class, for a total of thirty national championship jerseys. Alongside individual rankings, team competitions are also held, featuring a yearly showdown between historic clubs and military sports groups.

• Men's freestyle: ten weight classes
• Women's wrestling: ten weight classes
• Greco-Roman: ten weight classes
• Team rankings for each style

Who competes on the mat

Participation typically exceeds 350 athletes from all Italian regions. On the mats of Ostia, the paths of athletes from military sports groups—Carabinieri, Esercito, Fiamme Oro, and Fiamme Azzurre—cross with those of local clubs such as CUS Torino, Portuali Ravenna, Borgo Prati of Rome, Lotta Brescia, and the Gruppo Lottatori Livornesi. It is a competition that pits established international champions against young prospects seeking their first absolute title: this very blend makes the Absolute Championships a reliable showcase for the health of the sport.

The PalaPellicone and the Ostia Olympic Center

The FIJLKAM Olympic Center is located in Ostia Lido, just a short walk from the sea, and brings together gyms, mats, guest quarters, and medical facilities dedicated to combat sports. The PalaPellicone is its main arena: a structure designed to host federal and international competitions, with multiple mats running simultaneously during the elimination rounds and a central mat reserved for the final blocks. For the Roman public, it is an affordable and rare opportunity to see disciplines up close that usually only appear on television during the Olympic Games.

How the weekend unfolds

The format is well-established: it begins in the morning with elimination rounds on multiple mats, continues in the afternoon with repechages, and concludes with the final block, which packs all the title bouts for the day into just over an hour. Award ceremonies follow immediately after the category finals. The two days are split by discipline, ensuring each style has its own space and dedicated closing block.

An event open to everyone

Admission is free for both days of competition, a choice the Federation has maintained for years to bring families, schools, and fans closer to the mat. The sessions are also broadcast live on the FIJLKAM YouTube channel, with results and rankings published in real-time on the federal website. For those visiting Rome in winter, it is a different way to explore the coast: a morning of competition in Ostia followed by an afternoon in the village of Ostia Antica and its archaeological site.