Although the official collegiate wrestling season is at a stand still, many wrestlers don't take a break. Some of them may be training for Olympic trials while others might be competing in freestyle competition. In order to grasp the differences in these styles of wrestling, I've layed out the main differences - starting with folkstyle itself. Here's the breakdown:
United States College Wrestling (Folkstyle Wrestling)
- Developed in the US
- Used by college and high school athletes
- A pin in this competition is qualified as teh shoulders touching the mat for at least one second
- Near falls are awarded two to three points
- Riding time earns an additional point in collegiate matches only
- NCAA Collegiate period is one period of three minutes followed by two periods of two minutes (for a 7 minute bout).
- High school matches are three two-minute period
- Winner is determined by the most points at the end of the match (or a pin)
Olympic Style Wrestling
- 1 period of 5 minutes
- Win by a pin or the individual with the most points in a match
- Winner must have a minimum of 3 points or the match goes into overtime ( a maximum of 3 minutes) If it's still tied or the 3 point max hasn't been met, officials will determine the winner of the match.
Freestyle Wrestling
- Allows wrestlers to use their entire bodies with not as much limitation
- Wrestlers are not required to wear headgear
- Three two-minute periods.
- Winner of two out of three periods takes the victory or a wrestler can win by a pin
Greco-Roman Wrestling
- The biggest difference in this style of wrestling is that wrestlers can only use "holds above the waist." Which means they can't use their legs to defend or takedown their opponent.
- Very similar to freestyle
It's clear that in high school and college, athletes are broken down by weight class. High school ranges from 103-hwt and college goes 125-hwt.
In freestyle, wrestlers are broken down by sex, age groups and weight classes:
School boys - 14 to 15 year olds (64 -190 lbs) (13 year olds with parents' consent)
Cadets - 16 to 17 year olds (86-220 lbs) (15 year olds with parents' consent)
Juniors - 18 to 20 year olds (100-260 lbs) (17 year olds with parents' consent)
Seniors - 20 years and older (110-260 lbs)
Some freestyle competitions also have a "Veterans" category for men 35 and older.
Women freestyle:
School girls - 14 to 15 year olds (62 - 140 lbs)
Cadets - 16 to 17 year olds (79 - 150 lbs)
Juniors - 18 to 20 year olds (88 - 160 lbs)
Seniors - 20 years and older (97 - 160 lbs)
Seniors - 20 years and older (97 - 160 lbs)
For more in-depth information go to:
Photo by Sports Illustrated. Tom Brands during freestyle competition at the Olympics.
Great information. It's hard for a wrestling outsider to understand the differences between the styles (especially Folk and Olympic, because it's hard to go from watching high-school wrestling to Olympic), and I think you have a pretty good synopsis here. Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteThis is probably a dumb question, but how many "coaches" does Iowa have? I know the Brands brothers, but I always hear about these assistants and special assistants that are trying out for the Olympics or free styling.
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