Wrestling is a sport in which one contestant competes with another using various holds and techniques in an attempt to force the shoulders of the opponent against a mat, thus scoring a fall and winning the match. If a wrestler cannot score a fall within the time limit, a winner is determined based on a point-scoring system. Officials, who impartially enforce the rules of the sport, supervise all wrestling matches.
Two basic styles of amateur wrestling are generally employed around the world: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Other forms of wrestling are common within different cultures. Amateur wrestling is highly popular in the United States in colleges and universities, secondary schools, and athletic clubs. In addition to national championship matches, thousands of regional and local tournaments are held each year. Exhibition wrestling is also popular in the United States, although this professional type of wrestling is viewed as an entertainment spectacle rather than a sport.
Olympic Wrestling The basic rules and scoring procedures for freestyle and Greco-Roman are the same, as determined by the Fédération Internationale de la Lutte Amateur (FILA), the international wrestling federation. Olympic-style wrestling bouts consist of a one-period, 5-minute match. A match is completed if a wrestler scores a fall, or if at the end of regulation, one wrestler has scored more points. Under current rules, if neither wrestler scores at least three points in the five minutes allotted, the wrestlers must go into an overtime period of a maximum of three minutes. If neither wrestler has scored three points at the end of the overtime, or if the bout is still tied, the officials determine the winner. The points awarded for the various scoring maneuvers in wrestling (takedown, reversal, escape, exposure) are the same in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Freestyle Wrestling The rules of freestyle wrestling permit an athlete to use his entire body in competition, allowing a greater variety of holds than in the Greco-Roman style. Holds below the waist and the use of the legs are permitted. In the 1990s, the United States became one of the leading freestyle wrestling nations in the world, winning its first-ever team title at the 1993 Freestyle World Championships. Previously the sport was dominated for many years by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Freestyle is the most popular style in the world, with more nations participating in this form of wrestling at the annual world championships than in Greco-Roman.
Greco-Roman Wrestling Greco-Roman wrestling is especially popular in Europe, but it is practiced throughout the world. The distinctive feature of Greco-Roman wrestling is that contestants must apply all holds above the waist, and the use of the legs in scoring or defending is prohibited. Tripping, tackling, and using the legs to secure a hold are not permitted. Greco-Roman wrestlers begin their bout in a standing position, and attempt to either throw their opponent to the mat or to use holds to drop them to the mat.
United States College Wrestling Collegiate-style wrestling, also known as folkstyle or scholastic, is a form of wrestling native to the United States. This style of wrestling is practiced in U.S. secondary schools, colleges and universities, and in many wrestling clubs. One feature that makes collegiate-style wrestling different from freestyle is that a wrestler must hold the opponent's shoulders to the mat for one second to earn a fall. Collegiate-style wrestling rewards wrestlers with "near falls," worth two or three points, for holding an opponent close to his or her back. Collegiate wrestlers earn credit for "riding time," or time during which they control their opponent on the mat. "Riding time" points are unique to college wrestling and do not play a factor in the high school sport.
General Wrestling Scoring Procedures
With the differences noted above, four general scoring procedures are common to freestyle, Greco-Roman, and collegiate-style wrestling:
(1) Takedowns (2 points) are scored when one wrestler brings the opponent down to the mat from a standing position. Additional points are awarded when a wrestler takes the opponent directly to his or her back. Common takedowns include single legs, double legs, high crotches, headlocks, body locks, shrugs, and fireman's carries.
(2) Reversals (2 points) are scored when a wrestler, controlled by the opponent on the mat, executes a move that allows the wrestler to assume a controlling position on top of the opponent, thus reversing the situation. Common reversals include switches, rolls, and hip heists.
(3) Near Falls (2-3 points) Exposing an opponent's back to the mat is a scoring technique in all styles of wrestling. In international wrestling, all a wrestler must do to earn points is tilt the opponent's back toward the mat, breaking a 90° angle. In collegiate and secondary school wrestling, a wrestler must not only tilt the rival's back toward the mat, breaking a 45° angle, but also hold the back in this position for at least 2 seconds, 2 points are earned. If held for5 or more seconds, 3 points are earned. Common "pinning combinations" include the half-nelson, bar arm, cradle, and tilt leg ride.
(4) Escapes (1 point) are scored when a wrestler, controlled by the opponent on the mat, frees himself or herself and moves to a standing position, facing the opponent. Common escapes include the standup and the sit-out.
(5) Penalty or Technical Violation - 1 or 2 points
A penalty point is earned when a wrestler applies an illegal hold, is called for stalling after being warned, or does an unsportsmanlike-act. A technical violation is earned when the top wrestler locks his hands around his opponent's body (in collegiate and secondary wrestling) and is not in near fall criteria. The 1st and 2nd offense are 1 point penalties The 3rd offense is a 2 point penalty. The fourth offense ends the match by disqualification.
The first organized national wrestling tournament was held in New York City in 1888, while the first wrestling competition in the modern Olympic Games was held in 1904 in Saint Louis, Missouri. FILA was founded in 1912, in Antwerp, Belgium. The first NCAA Wrestling Championships were also held in 1912, in Ames, Iowa. USA Wrestling, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, became the national governing body of amateur wrestling in 1983. It conducts competitions for all age levels.
Officials Hand Signals