Could beach wrestling help find future Olympians?

The UK's first beach wrestling competition will be used to select potential Olympic athletes, officials have said.

Competitors will take part in the tournament at Cleethorpes on 25 July from 11:00 to 13:00 BST.

The matches will take place in a sand circle and are decided by throws, takedowns and boundary control.

Lawrence Dutton, from British Wrestling, said: "It's not WWE, it's just an adaptation of our freestyle rules and it's getting very popular around the world."

Forget Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker, the competitors in beach wrestling follow freestyle rules which are widely used in the Olympics as well as tournaments in the US.

Speaking on BBC Radio Humberside, Dutton added: "For a spectator sport it's probably our best discipline.

"Beach wrestling is probably the simplest form of wrestling you can imagine, two athletes in a circle on the sand.

"It will be an Olympic game soon."

Dutton said they had chosen Cleethorpes as the venue as it was a "large, expansive, flat sand that gives plenty of space to create the competition".

"Our pathway through to the Olympics is through United World Wrestling, which holds competitions all around the world," he added.

"We need a team to represent Great Britain so this will be part of our selection process."

Each contest will be a standing-only style with athletes trying to secure throws and takedowns.

According to British Wrestling, the three-minute matches are typically decided by a clear points margin or when an athlete scores three points.

"You don't really need to know the rules, just need to know that if someone gets picked up and thrown down the other person wins," Dutton said.

The bouts will take place on the sand near Cleethorpes Leisure Centre. Spectators will be able to watch the action for free.

British Wrestling has described the event as a "landmark moment for the sport", which has regular international championships at senior, junior and youth level.

Councillor Tanya Brasted, portfolio holder for culture, heritage and the visitor economy, said: "This shows exactly why Cleethorpes is amazing.

"Hosting the UK's first event of this type is a prestigious moment and nothing more than the resort deserves."

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