That's right, I'm running for the head office of the United States Sumo Federation for the 2026-2030 term and Justin Kizzart of Dark Circle Sumo is my VP running mate. If you know me and Justin, you know that keeping this discussion to only two hours was already tough for us, but if you don't have the time to check out the whole thing, here are some highlights and links to help you get involved.
Our platform has 4 major goals for the next 4 years of the USSF:
1: Win an international gold medal for the US. We want to get America to the top of the podium for the first time since the 90s. This will take improvements in both training our current athletes and in recruiting new athletes. We discuss some of our ideas on how to make this happen.
2: Improve the youth sumo pipeline. We need to be training the top wrestlers of the next generation right now and spreading the word to more young people about our awesome sport.
3: Continue improving the USSF's organization. We have made huge progress in the last few years in modernizing the USSF's policies and procedures, but there are still a lot of things we can work on.
4: Focus on communication and transparency. Like #3, things are better than they used to be, but we want all wrestlers, volunteers, parents, etc. to be more in the loop on USSF happenings and opportunities.
Here are some links to get you started, but please feel free to contact either of us directly. To vote in the 2026 election, you will need to be a current USSF member. You can renew your membership any time and it will be good through the end of the 2026 calendar year.
As always, make sure to keep an eye on the home page of the USSF:
Find what region you're in with the USSF map:
Renew your membership:
https://www.ussumo.org/registration/p/5a02xrea3vj1wzb59kxyi1txu0wbil
Find your USSF membership number:
https://www.ussumo.org/membership-list
Reach out to Jake through any Grand Sumo Breakdown social media, or directly at grandsumobreakdown@gmail.com
Reach out to Justin through the Dark Circle Sumo Instagram or at jdkizzart@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/darkcircle_sumo/
0:00 Intro/summary
2:12 Who are we
16:28 The past/present of the USSF
50:12 What are our specific goals
2:08:28 How the election will be run
Theme music by FreeMusicBox
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