The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- April 12, 1999

Sports Sciences Newsletter -- Wrestling rules changes

The importance of the why, what and how

By Bryan W. Smith, M.D., Ph.D.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

The tragic deaths of three collegiate wrestlers in late 1997 sparked intense scrutiny of the training methods in the sport. An investigation by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded that the deaths were the result of excessive dehydration and hyperthermia secondary to rapid weight-loss practices.

The CDC reported that each wrestler had restricted food intake and was attempting to maximize sweat loss by vigorously exercising in a heated environment while wearing a vapor-impermeable suit. The wrestlers were attempting to lose an average of 8 pounds in a matter of hours prior to their deaths. The Food and Drug Administration's investigation did not implicate supplement use as a contributory factor.

Weight-cutting behaviors are nothing new in wrestling. Using rapid weight loss to qualify for a match has been practiced for nearly half a century. Medical organizations such as the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) have published position statements regarding weight control in wrestling starting more than 25 years ago. A guideline to weight loss and hypohydration has been in the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook since 1985.

Wide-scale actions to curb the practice of rapid weight loss were first reported at the high school level with the implementation of the Wisconsin Weight Minimum Wrestling Project in 1991. This project is comprised of two components, a minimum weight-class determination based on body fat calculation and a nutrition education program. Similar programs have started in a few other states at the high-school level. Evaluation of the Wisconsin program demonstrated a significant yet limited effect on eliminating weight cutting from wrestling.

After the three collegiate deaths, the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee took a proactive role in addressing the situation. With assistance from the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, the rules committee enacted several temporary measures that allowed the 1997-98 wrestling season to continue to completion.

Following the 1998 championships, the rules committee and selected members of the competitive safeguards committee pooled their expertise to develop new rules addressing rapid weight-loss behaviors. The primary goals of the rules were to enhance safety, retain competitive equity, and emphasize competition rather than weight loss.

The committees in the discussion utilized numerous resources. Position stances from the Joint Committee to Address Weight Management in Wrestling, the ACSM and the CDC provided excellent information. Other useful resources were input from student-athletes, coaches, parents, athletic administrators, athletic trainers and physicians, and the high-school wrestling weight projects already in place.

Several rules changes arose from the combined effort of the two NCAA committees. They included new weight classes, a weight-class certification process, moving the weigh-in process closer to the match time, establishing a daily weigh-in for a multiple-day tournament and requiring certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and basic first aid for all wrestling coaches. Dehydration devices such as vapor-impermeable suits, hot rooms, hot boxes, saunas and steam rooms were banned. Artifical means of rehydration prior to competition, laxatives, diuretics and emetics also were prohibited.

Education on proper nutrition and hydration was stressed. References on supplement use, heat illness, body composition and hydration that appear in the sports medicine handbook were published in the 1999 NCAA wrestling rules book. Videos and handouts detailing the new rules and the rationale behind the changes were provided to coaches and student-athletes. Nutrition guidelines and recommendations were developed.

The greatest challenge came with the creation of the weight certification program. Establishment of a permanent weight class during the early portion of the competitive season was enacted to discourage and hopefully eliminate the need for weight cycling via rapid weight loss during the remainder of the year.

A measurement of hydrated body weight and body fat was obtained from each wrestler in early October and a minimum wrestling weight was calculated based on a 5 percent body fat minimum recommended by the ACSM. A student-athlete could lose no more than 1.5 percent of their initial body weight per week in a supervised manner over an eight-week period to reach this minimum weight, if desired. The second weigh-in period during the first week of December then determined the wrestler's lowest possible weight class for the season.

This certification process took the most time to create and brought the most questions and concerns as to implementation. It incorporated the current medical science available and was designed to be as user-friendly and cost-effective as possible for all concerned.

However, the validity of the process is dependent on two premises. First, the examiner must have the technical skills to accurately perform the body composition and hydration measurements. Second, all participants in the process, including examiners and student-athletes, must have ethics and integrity in regards to the testing process.

Numerous research projects are currently ongoing to evaluate the process and provide information for future modifications, if necessary. Many issues concerning body composition are being studied including potential ethnic variation in the prediction equations, seasonal weight variations of wrestlers and new and existing measurement devices.

The new match weigh-in time is being evaluated as compared to matside weigh-ins. Wrestlers are being surveyed to ascertain their knowledge of weight-loss practices. The NCAA is funding several of these projects. Information that is gained will help to evaluate and improve the process in the future.

Have these changes made a difference in reducing rapid weight-loss behaviors? Anecdotal reports suggest that progress has been made, weigh-ins at the recent NCAA championships went smoothly and the NCAA wrestling committee reports that student-athletes participating in these events are happier and healthier than ever.

The wrestling community must be applauded for its willingness to embrace these new rules, and traditions is a sport do not change overnight. The 1998-99 rules changes are the start of a new era in the sport, one that needs nurturing and patience but that will benefit participants and the sport itself in the future.

Bryan W. Smith is chair of the sports sciences subcommittee of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. He is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and orthopaedics and head team physician at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.