Rules committee proposes changes including 3 point takedown
The NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee has published their proposed rule changes for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons. Several changes would dramatically alter college wrestling for the upcoming season. The biggest change is increasing a takedown’s value from two to three points. Another major change is only awarding a riding time point if the wrestler has also scored near fall points in the match. NCAA coaches have been informed they will have a chance to comment on the proposed changes, and the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel will consider the changes at their meeting on June 8th.
Other changes include modifying weigh in times for dual meets, eliminating the controversial hand-touch takedown, and adding a three point near fall when a wrestler holds his opponent in criteria for three seconds in addition to the unchanged two and four point near falls.
See the NCAA official release here.
Additionally, the following changes have been proposed:
- Allow officials to use video review to review an entire sequence and apply the correct calls which would eliminate dead time under the current rules.
- The first medical forfeit of a tournament would count as a loss on the wrestler’s record unless the medical forfeit occurs immediately after an injury default in a tournament.
- The penalty for a delayed coach’s video review challenge request would be changed to a loss of the video review instead of a control-of-mat violation.
- True placement matches conducted in an event would not alter the final team score.
- Officials could let action continue after penalizing an illegal hold and not require a stoppage after imminent scoring finishes when the safety of wrestlers is not in danger.
- The five-second count for the waist and ankle ride would be expanded to include all situations in which the top wrestler grasps the bottom wrestler’s ankle.
- Weigh-in times across all competition types would be standardized to two hours or sooner before the start of competition. Currently, tournament weigh-ins are two hours or sooner, but dual meet weigh-ins are permitted only one hour or sooner before the start of competition.
- Weight certification for all schools would be permitted to start Sept. 1.
- The rule limiting facial hair to no longer than half an inch would be eliminated.
3 point take down is not a good change! The reversal is now penalized as you trail by one when reversing your opponent when you have gained control. That would be not rewarding the action of said wrestler fairly as you put said wrestler at a one point disadvantage. Folkstyle is three positions and now we are encouraging neutral wrestling as kick outs will be at advantage being up 3-1 versus 2-1. I feel the freestyle community are once again trying to change folkstyle by slowly eliminating mat wrestling. If I wanted freestyle I would watch it. I am a folkstyle fan and want to keep its integrity, that being three positions. Do we change reversals to three and escapes to two? The 4 point near fall was good as the emphasis of the game is to put one’s opponent to their back. A pin being the ultimate goal! Now we are trying to award neutral wrestlers you may not have to mat wrestle. If we don’t wrestle on the mat then it moves closer to freestyle and freestyle doesn’t have the following like folkstyle. Let us not make this mistake. Step outs and back exposure with no control is not folkstyle. Let’s not kill the great sport of folkstyle by these freestyle minded sabotage minded people who need to stay out of the rule set of folk! Don’t ruin our sport for a product that is already out there and doesn’t compare to three position and controlled folkstyle. Let’s not make folk a Neutral dominated sport as once upon a time wrestlers had to wrestle neutral then once top and once bottom. Please don’t make a rash decision that would damage the integrity of that which is folk wrestling for a few feestyle agenda minded people who need to focus on their sport and not our folkstyle!