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.

The Mat Chairman is the person sitting at the scorer’s table. He is the official in charge of the match in progress. He ensures that the Referee and the Judge are doing their jobs and discusses with coaches situations that may come up. If the Referee and the Judge agree on what has happened, then that is what happened. If they have different views (score, penalty) then the Mat Chairman will decide which is correct. The Mat Chairman will also use paddles or his hands to indicate what the decision is. Every score or penalty is agreed upon by at least 2 of the 3 officials on the mat.

The wrestler’s will wear singlets, similar to folkstyle, which will be either red or blue, as assigned. Local tournaments may vary in singlets allowed. The wrestler will also have a handkerchief that is tucked into the singlet. This is for his personal use to remove sweat, blood, etc… from his body.

On to the match.
The wrestlers will stand in their corners and show their handkerchiefs to the referee. The referee will then ask each wrestler to step to the center of the mat and he will then inspect them to make sure they are properly dressed and groomed for wrestling. The referee will shake hands with each wrestler during this and then have them shake hands with each other. The wrestlers will stand about 1 meter apart and start wrestling at the whistle. Now a basic style difference between Freestyle and Greco shows up. The Greco wrestlers are not allowed to attack the legs of their opponents nor use their legs in defense.

Freestyle wrestlers may attack any part of their opponents’ body.
Takedowns can score from 1 – 5 points. A takedown to the belly is worth 1 point, to the back it is worth 3 points and with a high-amplitude to the back it is worth 5 points. From the mat, turning your opponent so that his back is facing the mat is worth 2 points. If you can hold him there for 5 seconds it is 1 more point. Lifting your opponent from the mat and executing a throw is worth 3 or 5 points. It is a pin when you hold your opponents shoulders/scapula to the mat for 1 second. A major difference from folkstyle is out of bounds. If a wrestler steps out of bounds, his opponent will receive 1 point. Also, the return from out of bounds is to the standing position. Penalties (cautions) for illegal acts are worth 1 or 2 points to the offended wrestler. Three cautions and a wrestler is disqualified from the match.

Each match will consist of 3 periods of 2 minutes; Kids divisions will be 1 ½ minutes per period. The winner of the match is the wrestler who wins 2 of the 3 periods or pins his opponent. To win a period a wrestler may:
· Gain a 6-point difference (tech fall)
· Score a 5-point throw (regardless of score)
· Score 2 3-point throws ( regardless of score)
· Have more points

If there is any score during the period, there will be a winner for that period. If there is a tie, other than a 0-0 tie, criteria will be used to determine the winner of the period. If it is a 0-0 tie, a clinch will be used to determine the winner. The criteria are:
· Fewest cautions
· Most high value holds: a 3, most 2’s
· Last wrestler to score

A Freestyle period is wrestled for the entire 2 minutes from the standing position. Greco-Roman periods are wrestled in 3 increments. 1 minute from the standing position then 2 30-second increments. After the 1-minute time, a wrestler will take the top position in par terre and take a reverse-body lock position on the down wrestler. At the whistle they will begin to wrestle. If at the end of the 30-seconds the top wrestler has not scored, then he will be penalized. Then the wrestlers will switch positions for the 2nd 30-second time. Wrestling will not stop if one of the wrestlers is in the danger position at the end of any increment.

The Freestyle clinch position is the wrestler who will clinch specifies which leg the defending wrestler must place in the center on the mat. He will then take a single-leg hold with his hands behind the knee. The attacking wrestler will then have 30-seconds to score or lose the period. Between each period is a 30-second rest time. The Referee will announce the winner of the period by raising his own hand with the color of the winning wrestler.

Blood and injury time are similar to folkstyle rules with exception of events where there is a competition doctor. In those cases, the doctor will have all the time he wants to determine and treat the condition. The doctor’s word is final if he determines a wrestler can not continue.

At the end of the match the wrestlers will return to the center of the mat. The Referee will declare the winner by raising his hand. Then the wrestlers will shake hands and then shake the hands of all the officials for the match. The match is now over and it is time to move on to the next match.

This has been a brief introduction to the new rules and is not a complete and thorough explanation. If you want to know more, attend the pre-tournament briefing session or attend a rules clinic in your area. FILA and USA Wrestling may modify the rules and/or the interpretations during the year.