By Jim Woolnough
Copyright 2006

Welcome to the new season of Freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling.

The International Governing Body for wrestling, FILA, made significant changes to the rules of wrestling in 2005. USA Wrestling decided to delay the introduction of the new rules until this year for all age group wrestling. For those who were familiar with freestyle in the past, it is a very different sport. For newcomers, it may be a little disorienting. On to the rule changes for this year.

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By Jim Woolnough
Copyright 2006

Welcome to the new season of Freestyle/Greco-Roman wrestling.

There have been some significant changes in the rules of the sport. Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling are more clearly different than in the past.

One of the first differences you may notice, from folkstyle, is that there are three officials for each match, at the larger/higher level events. They are the Mat Chairman, the Judge and the Referee. The Referee is the official with the whistle and he controls the match along with noting scores and penalties. He stands on the mat and moves around to observe the action, similar to a folkstyle referee. The referee will use hand signals to show what is happening in the match. The Judge sits opposite the scorer’s table and observes the action. He will also note penalties and scores. The Judge will use either paddles or his hands to indicate penalties and scores.

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by Desiree French

138-lb weight class had a distinctive champion that everyone called Frisco’s Vanessa Epps. She pinned her way through the tournament and not just by using the headlock either. In matches this all-American racked up huge points on her opponents proving herself a well-rounded wrestler. She won her first gold medal – a nice addition to her silver from last year. The real interesting story is that of Ivonne Ramirez of Seguin, who few thought would be in serious medal contention. She pulled off an amazing 8-6 win over Stephanea Hignight of Caprock, and a 5-3 victory over Dainele Williams of Killeen.

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