The NCAA News - News and Features

April 20, 1998

Committee refines wrestling safety rules

BY MARTY BENSON
STAFF WRITER

Weight classes and weigh-in times will change for next season under recommendations developed by the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee.

The recommendations, which are designed to increase the safety of student-athletes in the sport, were developed in conjunction with selected members of the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. The meeting was conducted April 8-9 in Kansas City, Missouri

The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet, the Division II Championships Committee and the Division III Championships Committee, respectively, approved similar weight-rules changes that took effect in January in response to the deaths of three student-athletes during weight-loss activities geared toward qualifying for a weight class in November and December 1997.

"We greatly appreciate the time and effort put forth by the competitive-safeguards committee in helping us formulate these recommendations," said Mike Moyer, chair of the Wrestling Rules Committee and director of the Patriot Club at George Mason University. "We believe these changes are best for our student-athletes, which is our primary concern.

"Some may find these changes inconvenient at first, but we believe they are in the best long-term interest of both the student-athletes and the sport itself."

Moyer said it was important to note that all of the recommendations were the result of extensive discussion that focused on three guiding principles developed by the competitive-safeguards committee:

1. Any weight control practices that could potentially risk the health of the participant should be eliminated from wrestling. To accomplish that goal, incentives to attempt those practices should be minimized.

2. The focus in the sport should be on competition, not weight control.

3. Recommendations should be practical, effective and enforceable.

The recommendations are also in line with suggestions from the Centers for Disease Control, which investigated the deaths, all of which showed clear evidence of dehydration. Among the CDC's recommendations were training coaches and student-athletes in proper weight-control strategies, having a medical professional determine a safe weight for each student-athlete, and developing rates and limits of allowable weight loss for each wrestler.

Moyer said that the six recommendations were developed after careful consideration of extensive input received from numerous sources. Those included national governing bodies, conferences, physicians, researchers, athletic trainers, coaches, student-athletes, parents and fans from all levels of participation.

New weight classes

Under the recommendations, weight classes would be changed to the following, all measured in pounds: 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197, 285, with wrestlers having to weigh in at scratch weight (no allowance) all year. Previous rules gave allowances that were reduced periodically as the year progressed and to allow for travel days. The classes at the start of this season were 118, 126, 134, 142, 150, 158, 167, 177, 190 and 275.

The recommended classes are identical to the adjusted weights established by the midseason changes -- seven pounds added to each class -- with the exception of heavyweight, which would be increased 10 pounds from the original 275 under the recommendation. The reason for that difference is that the distance between 197 pounds and what is commonly called heavyweight is greater than it is between other weight classes.

The new weight classes were developed to include an approximately equal number (10 percent) of available high-school seniors in each of the proposed 10 weight classes, based on a 1992 study done by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Until this year's midseason changes, the classes had remained constant since the 1986-87 season, when heavyweight went from unlimited to 275 pounds for safety reasons. The other weight classes have been stable since 1969-70.

Determination of a safe weight class

To set a safe weight class for each student-athlete, each school would have a physician or athletic trainer conduct an initial weight assessment of its wrestlers during the dates October 1-7, using body weight, body composition (body fat) and specific gravity of urine (to determine the level of hydration at time of weighing). A figure consisting of the student-athlete's lean body weight plus five percent body fat would be used to establish a minimum wrestling weight. Each wrestler would have the option of modifying his weight over an eight-week period, but no more than 1.5 percent of body weight could be lost per week. The student-athlete's final weight could not fall below the minimum wrestling weight.

The process would be repeated during a national certification period that would be held December 1-7 . The data would be used to set the student-athlete's weight class for the rest of the year. That weight class could not be below the minimum wrestling weight calculated in October. Once the December weight was established, the student-athlete would not be able to wrestle in a lower class for the rest of the season.

Special cases such as transfers and injured student-athletes would have their weight class established the first time they competed. A form and explicit instructions for certification would be drafted by the competitive-safeguards committee and mailed to sponsoring schools. The coach, an athletics administrator, athletic trainer and the student-athlete would need to sign the form to validate it.

The purpose of the change is to establish a permanent weight class by the first week of December, which diminishes the incentive to attempt severe and rapid weight loss at the end of the season. During the window between October and December, the student-athletes would be allowed to modify their weight, but at a controlled rate while under medical supervision.

"We're trying to change the focus from losing weight to conditioning," said Dr. Bryan W. Smith, a member of the competitive-safeguards committee and team physician at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "It's possible a student-athlete could be in shape and have low body fat (in October) and not be permitted to lose any weight."

Time between weigh-ins and competition changed

Weigh-ins for dual matches would be held one hour before the start of the first match in dual meets under the recommendations. This change would reduce the incentive to dehydrate because there is not sufficient time to rehydrate before the competition. A random draw would be conducted before the matches begin to determine which weight class would start the dual meet. For tournaments, weigh-ins would be held two hours before the start of the first matches on the first day of all tournaments and one hour before the first matches begin on subsequent days of tournaments.

The January changes set all weigh-in times for dual meets and tournaments at two hours before the first match. Before that, weigh-ins for dual, triangular and quadrangular meets were held a maximum of five hours and a minimum of one-half hour before the meet was scheduled to begin, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the coaches, on scales provided by the host school. For tournaments, the weigh-in time was established by the respective tournament committee and was to be limited to a maximum of 24 hours and a minimum of one-half hour before the tournament was scheduled to start. Unlike the time-of-weigh-in rules that existed before the January changes, the new rule would be unalterable.

Another part of the recommendation regarding dual-meet logistics is that the first weight class to be contested would be determined by a random draw after the weigh-in, with the subsequent order proceeding in the traditional lowest-to-highest weight-class format, then restarting at the lowest weight, if necessary, until all classes were completed. Under the old system the a dual meet would start with the lowest weight class and proceed to heavyweight. The reason for the random draw is to prevent those in the higher weight classes from being able to plan on having a longer time for rehydration from weigh-in to competition at every outing.

The traditional lowest-to-highest order would be followed in tournaments. Those events typically have preliminary-round matches in some, but not all, weight classes. Those and the many other variables inherent in the often large number of participants in tournaments make a student-athlete's planning on a specific amount of time from weigh-in to competition problematic.

Further clarification of the logistics of this recommendation are that, in dual meets, student-athletes may step on and off the scale three times in succession to allow for mechanical inconsistencies in the scale. In tournaments, student-athletes may step on each available scale once without leaving the weigh-in area to allow for scale inconsistencies. The traditional sequence of weight classes would be maintained throughout tournaments.

Multiple-day tournament weigh-ins

Although the recommendations would not change the time between weigh-ins and the start of tournaments, the frequency of tournament weigh-ins would increase.

Under this recommendation, weigh-ins would be held each day of a tournament, with no weight allowance given. On the first day of a tournament, weigh-ins would be held two hours before the first bout. On subsequent days, that time would be reduced to one hour.

Starting in 1997, weigh-ins were held only on the day before or the day of competition. No subsequent weigh-ins were permitted. The idea was to allow the student-athletes to focus on the competition rather than making weight. Opposition to this policy noted that it increased the student-athlete's incentive to make weight through dehydration, since he would have to make weight only once and then would have the rest of the tournament to rehydrate with no checks on his weight. The potential for abuse was largest at the respective national championships since that is the focus of the entire season.

No hot wrestling rooms

Another recommendation is a slight modification of the rule that was approved in January regarding artificial devices that are used to induce dehydration. The addition to the rule is that wrestling practice rooms must be kept at a temperature not to exceed 75 degrees Fahrenheit at the start of practice. Every effort must be made to maintain that temperature throughout the practice. The idea is to prevent the overheating of a wrestling practice room to induce weight loss through dehydration. While both committees realize many such facilities do not have the ability to accurately control room temperature, in general, a moderate room temperature and humidity is optimal for practice.

Continuing education a key

The final, and possibly most important, component is education. If the recommendation is passed, all wrestling coaches, including volunteers, would be required to be certified in CPR and first aid annually by the date of the first practice. Wrestling is the first NCAA sport to recommend such a rule.

All members of a team's wrestling coaching staff for all divisions also will be required either to attend or view a tape of next season's rules-clinic satellite telecast, during which all weight rules will be thoroughly reviewed. Currently, only one full-time member of each Division I program's coaching staff is required to attend or view a clinic. Because of cost, attendance or viewing previously was only recommended for Divisions II and III coaches.

Guidelines from the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook on Heat Illness, Nutritional Ergogenic Aids and Body Composition will be added to the NCAA Wrestling Rules Book as appendices for easy reference, with special additions that will be sport-specific. The committees also recommended that funding be granted to allow for production of a videotape on weight safety, with the final product being available for the 1998-99 season.

"No matter what you do, there are ways to get around rules," Smith said. "I think that's where the education component comes in. People need to realize they are putting themselves at risk (when they intentionally dehydrate)."

The penalties for breaking any of new rules, except where otherwise designated, would be the same as that for the last recommendation on plastic suits and room temperature -- suspension from the match the match or matches for which the weigh-in or practice is intended on the first offense, followed by suspension for the season on the second offense.

"Our goal is to change the culture of the sport to the extent that the unsafe practices are eliminated," said William F. Arnet, chair of the competitive-safeguards committee and legal counsel for the University of Missouri, Columbia. "That isn't going to be easy because weight-loss techniques have been a part of the sport for a substantial amount of time."

Further research will investigate changes in weight and body composition and how those two factors affect performance across the season. This research will include, but not be limited to, actual mat-side weigh-ins. Before the meeting, the competitive-safeguards committee requested funding for the 1998-99 fiscal year from the NCAA Research Committee.

The new recommendations will be forwarded to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet, the Division II Championships Committee and the Division III Championships Committee for consideration. Those committees may consider approving the proposals during conference calls later this month.

Proposed changes