Wrestling Points of Emphasis - 2022-23
https://www.nfhs.org/sports-resource-content/wrestling-points-of-emphasis-2022-23/By NFHS on October 26, 2022
wrestling
The NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee and the NFHS Board of Directors believes there are areas of interscholastic wrestling that need to be addressed and given special attention. These areas of concern are often cyclical, some areas need more attention than others, and that is why they might appear in the rules book for consecutive editions. These concerns are identified as “Points of Emphasis.” For the 2022-23 high school wrestling season, attention is being called to: Sportsmanship, Illegal, Harmful Holds and Maneuvers and Uniforms. When a topic is included in the Points of Emphasis, these topics are important enough to reinforce throughout the academic year because they are not being given the proper attention needed.
Sportsmanship
Good sporting behavior is one of the fundamental ingredients to the continued success and enjoyment of education-based high school sports and activities. In fact, in the 103-year history of organized high school sports in the United States, good sportsmanship has been one of the most important outcomes of high school activity programs.
NFHS playing rules are written to encourage sportsmanship. Participation in these programs should promote respect, integrity and sportsmanship. However, for these ideals to occur, everyone involved in these programs must be doing their part.
The NFHS is concerned that unsporting behavior in education-based athletics has increased across all sports. As a result, the NFHS has made sportsmanship the No. 1 Point of Emphasis for the 2022-23 school year.
Sportsmanship, or good sporting behavior, is about treating one another with respect and exhibiting appropriate behavior. It is about being fair, honest and caring. When these types of appropriate behavior occur, competitive play is more enjoyable for everyone.
Coaches set the tone at athletic contests with their display of sportsmanship. If these individuals act in a sportsmanlike manner, their behavior sets the tone for players, spectators and others. If coaches, however, are complaining constantly about the decision of contest officials, spectators are more likely to do the same.
There must be a collaborative, working relationship between contest officials and game administration to promote good sportsmanship and safely conduct the contest. Everyone has their roles to play in creating a positive, sportsmanlike atmosphere at contests.
Officials should focus on the actions of players, coaches and other bench/sideline personnel. A positive, open line of communication between officials and coaches ultimately results in a better contest for everyone involved.
Contest officials, however, should never engage with spectators who are exhibiting unsporting behavior. Once the contest begins, school administration is responsible for dealing with unruly spectators. A proactive approach by school administration includes monitoring the behavior of spectators and intervening as needed.
If spectators are using demeaning or profane language at officials – or at others in the stands – those individuals should be removed from the contest by school administration.
In recent years, a heightened level of unsportsmanlike behavior has been occurring by spectators at high school sporting events, and it must be stopped. The use of demeaning language, or hate speech, by students, parents and other fans must cease.
High school sports and other activities exist to lift people up, not demean or tear people down. The goal is to treat everyone fairly and treat each other with respect. Any speech or harassment that is insulting, demeaning or hurtful will not be tolerated.
High schools must establish a culture that values the worth of every single person – both players on the school’s team and players on the opposing team. There must be a no-tolerance policy regarding behavior that shows disrespect for another individual.
Good sports win with humility, lose with grace and do both with dignity. It takes the efforts of everyone every day to ensure that sportsmanship remains one of the top priorities in education-based activity programs.
Illegal, Harmful Holds and Maneuvers
In the purest form of wrestling, two similar sized athletes use their strength, guile, ability and repertoire of moves to control and dominate their opponent. We have always made moves and maneuvers that intentionally injure or punish a wrestler illegal and work on removing them from our sport. We are noticing that some moves, maneuvers and holds are starting to filter down to our level from other influences that are not education-based athletics. We abhor any move, maneuver or hold that intentionally injures limbs and joints or penetrates any body cavities. Allowing those techniques to infiltrate into our sport is irresponsible, dangerous and in certain jurisdictions illegal.
No one wants to drive any students out of the sport. If parents are not confident that their children are in a well-managed risk environment, then they will not let them participate. That would be devastating to a sport that we have already seen a trend of declining participation numbers. We need to do everything possible in our schools to attract more students and retain them in our programs. Eliminating questionable moves, maneuvers and holds is the first place to start. Regardless of your role as either coach or referee, you must work together to keep certain techniques out of our sport.
Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world. The benefits of participating are phenomenal in developing high school students to better understand their bodies, appreciate discipline, be self-reliant and develop toughness that will be a life skill that they will use their entire lives. Let us direct our attention to preserving our sport for many more generations to come.
Uniforms
Uniforms are a key component in every sport. However, they are extremely important to wrestling because their proper wearing, cleanliness and sizing is critical to their functionality for the wrestler. A dirty, mis-sized uniform is an impediment that interferes with wrestling. Keeping the uniform washed and clean reduces risks of transmitting skin issues which protects the opponent, referee and provides comfort for the wearer. Wherever possible a uniform (singlet or two-piece) should be issued to a student that best fits their size, weight and gender. It is disconcerting to have a lighter weight wrestler wearing a stretched out uniform while wrestling and the back of their uniform is touching the mat during competition. The referee has no other choice but to award a fall to their opponent. Whereas, a properly fitted uniform might have resulted in a different result. We have experienced an increase of over 30,000 girls entering our sport and many are being issued male uniforms. In fairness and practicality, we cannot expect a girl to perform her best if she has to be concerned in the back of her mind about her uniform and if it will support her while she is competing. We are not suggesting a wholesale overhaul of your uniform stock, but we are asking you to inspect what you have and if it is financially feasible replace your inventory with newer and properly fitted uniforms. It will benefit the morale and confidence of your wrestlers.