Contact:
Kylee Stock, Director of Sports Marketing
Iowa City Sports Commission
319-337-6592
stock@thinkiowacity.com 

Josh Schamberger, Board President, Iowa City Area Sports Commission
Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club  
319-594-3198
josh@thinkiowacity.com

Iowa City & University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling to Host Team USA & Ukraine next month; USA vs. UKR “Friendly” at Xtream Arena

November 18, 2025 – The Iowa City Area Sports Commission, in partnership with the Iowa  Women’s Wrestling Club (IWWC), is proud to welcome back the Ukrainian Women’s Wrestling  Federation to Wrestle Town, USA. Team Ukraine will join Team USA next month for a two-week  training camp with the Iowa Hawkeye Women’s Wrestling program. The camp will conclude with a  USA vs. Ukraine “friendly” hosted by the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club. 

The USA vs. Ukraine Friendly will take place Thursday, December 18, at 7:00 p.m. at Xtream  Arena in Coralville, Iowa. A high school girls’ matchup between City High & Cedar Rapids  Washington will take place beginning at 6:00pm. The event is presented by the IWWC, the Iowa City  Area Sports Commission, and the City of Coralville. In lieu of tickets, fans are encouraged to bring  nonperishable food items to support the Coralville Community Food Pantry. 

“Our community looks forward to welcoming back the Ukrainian Women’s Wrestling Federation to  Coralville and Iowa City,” said Kylee Stock, Director of Sports Marketing at the Iowa City Area  Sports Commission. “This December marks the third time that Ukraine has trained here, and we  couldn’t be more excited to host this special group of athletes once again.” 

Ukraine’s connection to Iowa City began in December 2022, when the team won the United World  Wrestling Women’s World Cup at Coralville’s Xtream Arena—defeating the world’s best from  China, Japan, the United States, Mongolia, and an all-star international squad. They returned in  2023 for a two-week camp with the Hawkeye Women before traveling to a few other universities  and Colorado Springs for joint training with Team USA. 

“We’ve developed a truly special relationship with this group over the past several years,” said Josh  Schamberger, Board President of the IWWC and President/CEO of Think Iowa City and the Iowa  City Area Sports Commission. “We’re borrowing a term from the soccer world and calling the head to-head dual at Xtream Arena a ‘friendly’—but make no mistake, the competition will be fierce  when Team Ukraine’s best takes on Team USA.” 

Ukraine is bringing an exceptionally strong lineup featuring continental, world, and Olympic  medalists, including 2025 European Champion Oksana Livach, 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist Iryna  Koliadenko, and 2025 World Champion Alla Belinska.