Types of Wrestling Competitions
5 Point Thoughts
Types of Competitions in Wrestling
Wrestling is an individual sport within a team atmosphere. Teams are made up of individuals who compete alone on a wrestling mat. Depending on how they win their respective matches they score points for the team. Depending on the competition the results can score differently for the team.
Wrestling also has multiple styles of wrestling around the world. In the United States we compete in a style called Folkstyle. Folkstyle wrestling is about controlling your opponent. In this style matches can end in one of several ways:
Ways to Win a Match
Pin-Fall
Holding your opponents back to the mat for 2 seconds results in a pin fall. You may here this referred to as a pin, a fall or getting “stuck”.
Technical-Fall
At any point in the match if you score more than 15 points than your opponent, it results in a technical-fall and the match ends immediately. This is also called a “tech”.
Major Decision
If the match ends and you score more than 8 points than your opponent. Shortened usually to just “Major”.
Minor Decision
If time completely expires and you win by less than 8 points. Shortened to just “Minor”.
Each of these ways to win is scored differently based on the competition you are in. Scoring more than 3 points for your team is called “bonus points”.
Types of Competitions in Wrestling
For the most part there are 4 types of events a wrestling team can participate in:
Dual Meet
Two teams put together lineups of individual wrestlers representing the best wrestler of a specific weight class. Each wrestler will go out individually to compete in a match. Depending on how a wrestler wins scores points for their team. Also shortened to simply a “Dual”or “Meet”.
Pin-Fall
Worth 6 points
Technical-Fall
Worth 5 points
Major Decision
Worth 4 points
Minor Decision
Worth 3 points
Quad
Quads consist of usually 4-5 teams that will each compete against each other in a dual round after round.
The format of a quad is what is called a Round Robin where each team wrestles the others in a series of rounds.
Round 1
Team A vs Team B
Team C vs Team D
Round 2
Team A vs Team C
Team B vs Team D
Round 3
Team A vs Team D
Team B vs Team C
Team Tournament
Team tournaments are brackets set up of teams. They compete in duals and advance through the bracket when they win. Team tournaments can either be double elimination meaning you have to lose twice in order to be eliminated or a single elimination tournament.
Individual Tournament
Teams come to the event with individual representatives for each weight class in their division. Tournaments can have different formats depending on the host. Depending on the type of tournament you may also have different scoring for the match results.
Individual tournaments can either have strict weight classes or you may hear the term “Madison Weights”. This means kids will weigh in, and be grouped based on the closest other athletes usually forming round robin weight classes.
If the tournament has strict weight classes it is most likely double-elimination. Brackets are formed of each competitor and their weight classes. Winners move on through the championship side of the bracket while losers drop to the consolation side of the bracket.
Tournaments can be scored based on placements or on advancement through the bracket. If the tournament is based on placement only, athletes score for their team based on how well they place in the tournament and the way each match finishes does not matter. Where advancement tournaments are scored on placement, advancement, and the way matches are finished throughout the tournament.
Examples of tournament points can be:
PLACEMENT POINTS
1st place: 16 points
2nd place: 12 points
3rd place: 10 points
4th place: 9 points
5th place: 7 points
6th place: 6 points
7th place: 4 points
8th place: 3 points
ADVANCEMENT POINTS
Each advancement in championship bracket: 1 point
Each advancement in consolation bracket: 0.5 point
Bye followed by win in championship bracket: 1 point
Bye followed by win in consolation bracket: 0.5 point
BONUS POINTS
Each fall, forfeit, default, disqualification: 2 points
Each tech fall (w/ near fall points): 1.5 points
Each tech fall (w/o near fall points): 1 point
Each major decision: 1 point
All things told, to keep things as simple as possible, in an individual tournament, just keep winning.