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Overview:
Illinois high school wrestling is governed by the Illinois High School
Association. The governing body of the IHSA is the National
Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Please note
that this page is dedicated to explaining Folkstyle wrestling rules only.
Folkstyle is the style that OPRF wrestles during their winter season.
Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling are very popular styles, but they are
typically wrestled during the spring and summer. For more
information on Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling, visit
TheMat.com, USA
Wrestling's official site.
Click
here to view wrestling rules changes for 2008-2009.
Web Resources:
The Basics:
A wrestling match consists of three (3) two-minute periods.
The clock runs continuously except for referee stoppages.
The goal is to pin or score more points than your opponent at the end
of the match. If the match is tied at the end of regulation,
overtime will follow. Each match will produce a winner.
There are no ties in wrestling.
How to Win:
As we mentioned in the Basics, a wrestler must defeat his opponent
via pinfall or points. A pin (or fall) takes place when a
wrestler puts the opponent on his/her back with any part of both
shoulders or shoulder blades in contact with the mat for two seconds.
The match immediately ends upon pinfall. Regardless of score,
the bout match is recorded simply as "Fall", along with a time of
fall. A pinfall can occur by either wrestler regardless of
score. A wrestler can trail by ten points in a match, for
example, and still pin the opponent. This wrestler would then be
declared the winner of the match. If there is no pin, the
wrestler who scores more points by the end of the match is declared
the winner. If one wrestler leads his opponent by 15 or
more points at any time during the match, the referee will stop the
match and award the victory to the leading wrestler. This is
called a technical fall. A technical fall can take place at any
time during a match.
How to Score:
Takedown (2 points) - A wrestler scores two points for
taking the opponent down to the mat and then gaining control.
Escape (1 point) - After a wrestler gains control, the opponent
may escape out from the bottom to a neutral (both standing) position.
Reversal (2 points) - When the bottom wrestler (the
wrestler who is being controlled) reverses control and gains control
over the opponent, it is considered a reversal. Near Fall
(2 or 3 points) - Near fall points are also known as back points.
Near fall points are awarded when a wrestler gains control over the
opponent and puts the opponent on his/her back. The controlling
wrestler must expose the bottom wrestler's back for at least two seconds
to score points. The controlling wrestler (wrestler on top) is
awarded two points for exposing the opponent's back for two, three, or
four seconds. The controlling wrestler is awarded three points for
exposing the opponent's back for five or more seconds. Penalty
Points (1 or 2 points) - Referees can award penalty points to
the opponent of wrestlers who commit illegal holds, technical
violations, unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, and
stalling. Earning three or more cautions awards penalty points to
the opponent. In addition, a referee can stop a match and award a
victory if the referee ejects a wrestler from the match due to flagrant
misconduct.
The Match:
First Period - The match consists of three (3)
two-minute periods. At the beginning of the first period, both
wrestlers start in the neutral position. This means that both are
standing, and neither wrestler is in control of the other one.
Second Period - For the second and third periods, the two
wrestlers alternate with a preference of starting position. In
tournament play, the referee flips a green and red disk that determines
which wrestler has the right to choose the starting position for the
second period. In dual meets, the wrestlers with first choice are
predetermined and alternate every weight class. (For example, team
A has the right of choice in the 103 pound match, and team B has the
right of choice in the 112 pound match.) The wrestler that earns
first choice must choose between the following options: beginning the
second period in control (on top), under control (on bottom), without
control (standing/neutral), or defer (giving the choice to the opponent,
thus saving the choice for the beginning of the third period).
Since wrestlers earn one point for an escape, many wrestlers choose the
"down" position with the hope of escaping from their opponent and
scoring a point. Third Period - The wrestler who did not
make the choice at the beginning of the second period chooses at the
beginning of the third. This wrestler can choose top, bottom, or
neutral (standing) only. Since the third period is the last period
of regulation, there is nothing to defer. First Overtime (if necessary) - If the match
is tied at the end of the third period, overtime will be needed to
resolve the match. There are no ties. At the beginning of
the first overtime, both wrestlers will begin in the neutral (standing)
position. They will wrestle with one minute on the clock.
The match ends when either wrestler scores a point (or if one wrestler
immediately takes the opponent's back to the mat after a takedown and
gains a pinfall). The winning wrestler will be the wrestler who
gains the point (or pinfall). The bout ends immediately at this
point. This is called sudden victory. Second Overtime
(if necessary) - If neither wrestler scores a point in the first
overtime, then a second overtime is needed. Second overtime
consists of two 30-second periods. These periods are mandatory and
must be wrestled (unless a wrestler wins the match via pinfall).
The second overtime does not take place under sudden victory
rules. The referee tosses the disk and awards first choice to one
of the wrestlers. This wrestler must choose top, bottom, or defer.
Neutral cannot be chosen. The first 30-second period will take
place under the chosen starting position. Points may or may not be
scored. Regardless of points scored, there will be a second
30-second period. In the second 30-second period, the other
wrestler must choose top or bottom. Again, the 30-second period
will be wrestled to its conclusion regardless of points scored (unless a
pinfall takes place). The wrestler who has more points at the end
of both 30-second periods is declared the winner. Third Overtime
(if necessary) - If the score is tied after the second overtime, then
the third, and final, overtime is needed. The wrestler that scored
the first point in the match gets to make the choice of starting
position. The wrestler can choose top or bottom. The
wrestler that scores the first point during the 30-second period will be
declared the winner. If there is no scoring during the 30-second
period, then the top wrestler will be declared the winner.
Starting and Stopping During the Match - Throughout all three
periods (and any overtime periods if necessary), the clock starts and
stops on the referee's whistle only. The referee can stop the
match to award penalty points, declare a stalemate (when both wrestlers
are "stuck", and neither wrestler can improve position), declare a
potentially dangerous situation, allow for injury time (up to two
minutes per wrestler per match), allow for blood time (up to five
minutes per wrestler per match), or declare a pinfall or technical
fall. Restarting the Match - If the referee blows the whistle to stop wrestling action when one wrestler is in
control of the other, the wrestlers will restart the match in the same
fashion. Likewise, if action stops with neither wrestler in
control, then both wrestlers will restart in the neutral/standing
position.
Dual Meet Scoring:
A dual meet takes place when one team wrestles against another team
for all of the weight classes. There are fourteen (14) weight
classes in the Varsity level of competition. How each match was
won determines the points that each team earns in the team score.
Here is a list of the scoring:
- Fall, Forfeit, Default, or Disqualification (6 team points)
- Technical Fall (5 team points) - Winning the match by 15+
points.
- Major Decision (4 team points) - Winning the match by 8-14
points.
- Regular Decision (3 team points) - Winning the match by 1-7 points.
- Double Forfeit (0 team points) - A vacant weight class
for both teams.
- Team Point Penalty (-1 team point) - Unsportsmanlike
penalty against team.
Fall = pin; Forfeit = no opponent;
Default = can't continue; Disqualification = ejection After all fourteen matches are wrestled, the team that has
accumulated the most team points wins the dual meet. In the
event of a tie, a tie-breaker criteria will be used. Click
here for
team tie-breaker criteria.
Tournament Scoring:
Occasionally, teams enter tournaments consisting of many teams.
Wresters compete to advance in a bracket with competitors in their own
weight class. Team scores are also tallied, but they are scored
using a different system than the dual meet scoring mentioned above.
For a detailed explanation of tournament scoring, click
here.
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