Overview Of FREESTYLE WRESTLING Rules

The object of the sport of wrestling is to put your opponent on his back -- to pin your opponent.  A pin (or fall) is when you put your opponent on his/her back with any part of both shoulders or both shoulder blades of your opponent in contact with the mat for three seconds. When you pin your opponent, the match is over and you are the winner.  If neither wrestler is pinned, the winner is the wrestler who has scored the most points during the match.

 RULES:

• Two-3 minute periods with a 30 second break in between for Open, Junior, Cadet Divisions.
• Two-2 minute periods with a 30 second break in between for all Schoolboy/Schoolgirl and below divisions.
• A Technical Fall is earned ONLY with a differential of 10 points between wrestlers and ends the match.
• Slip throws are emphasized.  A slip throw is when an attacking wrestler who takes all of the risk does not complete the attack for a score and the defending wrestler does nothing aside from defending the attack of the other wrestler.  In this situation, no points are awarded and wrestlers are returned to the standing position.  Slip throws can occur from neutral as well as par terre (top and bottom) positions (in either case, wrestlers return to standing position).
• Each wrestler receives a total of two minutes of injury time per match.

SCORING:

1 Point

• Push out (whole foot, elbow, or head touches out of bounds; 2 hands out is not a push out).
• Reversal (bottom wrestler ends up on top).
• Correct throw (risk taken by an offensive wrestler that results in defensive wrestler making a full rotation without going to danger).
• Hand to Hand Exposure (bottom wrestler exposes without head, shoulder or elbow coming into contact with the mat
• Penalty point accompanied by a caution (fleeing the mat, 2 consecutive false starts in par terre, no score after 30 shot clock).

2 Points

• Takedown (three points if defensive wrestler’s body comes into contact with the mat; these points include knees, head, hands, elbows.
• Mat exposure resulting in danger (defensive wrestler breaks 90⁰ with head, shoulder, or elbow in contact with the mat).
• Caution by defensive wrestler that occurs in danger position.

4 Points

• Any action that starts from feet and lands in danger (consideration is for wherer the defensive wrestler’s knees or elbows are when the action occurs).
• Lifts from par terre in which bottom wrestler makes a full 360⁰ rotation and lands on belly.  Unlike Freestyle, in Greco-Roman the throw must be followed and controlled to the ground by the attacking wrestler.

5 Points = NONE.  There are no longer any 5 point actions in Freestyle.

PASSIVITY SEQUENCE:  All warnings and passivity calls require confirmation between two members of the officiating team (if using three man mechanics).

• 1st offense = Stoppage of the match by referee and a verbal warning given to   the passive wrestler, referee will say ATTENTION RED/BLUE, PASSIVE.  The referee will verbally tell the passive wrestler that he/she is being passive and that more scoring actions are required.  This should occur approximately 30 to 45 seconds into a scoreless period.
  • Once a wrestler has received the first warning, the next time he/she is called for passivity, they go on the shot clock (meaning this does not start over in between rounds).
• 2nd offense = Stoppage of the match by the referee.  Passive wrestler is placed on a 30 second shot clock.  At the conclusion of the 30 second shot clock, the passive wrestler is issued a caution and the other wrestler is given one point.  This should occur approximately 1:30 or 1:45 into a scoreless period.  At 2:00 into a scoreless period (i.e. one minute remaining), the match must be stopped and either Red or Blue is put on the 30 second shot clock.
  • If there are less than 30 seconds remaining in a period, a wrestler cannot be put on the shot clock. In these cases, the referee should consider a fleeing the hold call.
  • In a period in which either wrestler has scored, the referee will no longer consider asking for passivity.  Instead the referee will consider fleeing the hold if points have already been scored that period.
• At the conclusion of the 30 second shot clock, the match MUST BE STOPPED and a CAUTION and one point are given regardless of the position of the wrestlers (this means they could be mid-air and the action will not score if it    was not completed before the 30 second clock expired).
• If EITHER wrestler scores during the 30 second shot clock, the shot clock is extinguished and wrestling continues.
• A wrestler is disqualified after three passivity warnings.

TIEBREAKER CRITERIA:

• Value of holds – The wrestler who scored the highest point value move.  For example, if one wrestler hit a five point move and the other wrestler’s highest value move was only three points, then the wrestler with the five point move would win the tiebreaker.
• Least number of cautions.
• Last point scored.
• In the event that a match ends zero to zero and both wrestlers have one of the wrestlers would be put on the shot clock during the final minute of each period.  Even if a wrestler doesn’t score in the 30 second shot clock, a caution and 1 point would be the result.  Therefore, at worst a match could end 1-1.  If this occurs, the wrestler who scored the last point from the expiration of the 30 second shot clock would be the winner.