All Officials please note:
As we get started with our competitions, there seems to be some confusion as to the intent and meaning of certain rules.
1. While in the standing position, the foot of a wrestler must be COMPLETELY out of bounds in order for a point to be given. The old rule was that the foot had to touch the line to initiate the point.
2. The mat chairman cannot initiate a fall situation but he MUST confirm the fall. If the referee and judge call the fall and the mat chairman disagrees, the referee must not stop the match. therefore, eye contact with the mat chairman is imperative.
3. In a freestyle match, if the score is 0-0 and time is counting down, the official must look for center mat position and who is maintaining it. as the early European tours have indicated, FILA , the international governing body of wrestling is looking for more scoring. In this case if one wrestler is backing up and blocking or hanging on the wrist or hand, a caution and a point will be called for fleeing the hold. (Remember, we no longer have a passivity call.) This situation usually occurs in scoreless periods near the time completion.
4. In greco-roman wrestling, the same situation occurs but more tolerance is needed by the official because of the shorter time in the period. Also, in greco, in a clinch situation when there is no score, do not bring the wrestlers to their feet with 10-15 seconds left in the clinch if one wrestler is aggressively working to score.
There will be, I am sure, more situations that need looking into. Check the FILA website for the current rules and i will inform all of you of any other situations that may occur. I will be involved in the European Championships in Baku, AZE prior to the nationals. I will inform everyone in Cleveland at the nationals of any other "modifications."
Best Regards,
Rick Tucci
President
United States Wrestling Officials Association
From Toby Walker, USA Wrestling Official at the World Cup
As an official, here are some things that I think about and that we made need to think of as a group as to some things that may trigger a passivity call. With 1 minute to 15 seconds remaining in the period in a 0-0 situation the following apply.
When on the feet, our wrestlers need to be thinking of;
1) Not blocking with the head or arms.
2) Defending the middle of the mat.
3) Keep moving forward.
4) Attack with solid shots or legitimate attempts.
5) Staying out of the zone. Not playing the edge.
6) Do not flee the tie up or break away from the tie up with back to the edge. Also, do not break away from the tie up and body fake with your back to the edge without attacking.
When in Par-Terre, our wrestlers need to be thinking of;
1) Not clamping up on bottom.
2) Staying off the fingers and properly defending from the bottom.
Initially, we will say, “Attention”, “Open”, “Contact”…be visibly deliberate when signaling for Red or Blue…Then if there is no change or we feel that the wrestler is fleeing a hold or being overly passive. We signal again…wait for confirmation. Blow the whistle. Then a Caution and one point will be awarded. Remember the severity of the penalty. If a point and a caution is issued it takes two points to beat a point and a caution.
Sincerely,
Toby Walker
