The new granting-an-escape rule will take effect before a restart. The offensive wrestler will signal to the referee that he chooses to start in a neutral position. The defensive wrestler is awarded a point, and competition begins in the neutral position.
The NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee, which proposed all the changes, believes this rule will speed up the action in matches by eliminating time to position wrestlers and eliminating any cautions that may occur.
High school wrestling adopted this rule recently, and it has received favorable reviews from referees and coaches at that level.
Some in the wrestling community equate the change to an intentional walk in baseball or softball. If a wrestler feels his chances are better from a neutral-position start, then the option to grant the escape saves time.
Stalling
The panel also approved the new criteria that better define the stalling rule, which should help ensure its consistent enforcement.
Stalling is defined as one or both wrestlers attempting to avoid wrestling action as an offensive or defensive strategy.
Wrestlers who consistently retreat to the edge of the mat, make no effort to move back into the wrestling area and fail to initiate action will be cited for stalling.
The rule will be applied in the following instances:
Wrestlers, whether on offense or defense, must make an attempt to sustain active wrestling and remain inbounds. Stalling will be called in the following instances:
There is no longer a disqualification penalty involved in the stalling rule.
Injury timeouts
The panel also approved the recommendations regarding non-bleeding injury timeouts.
The first time a non-bleeding injury timeout is called, his opponent will be awarded the choice of position on the restart. The second time a non-bleeding injury timeout is taken; the opponent is awarded a point. A third non-bleeding injury timeout will result in the termination of the match and the opponent is awarded the victory by default.
The NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee is concerned that wrestlers have been using the injury timeout rule as a strategy to avoid wrestling action or being scored on. Committee members want to eliminate this type of gamesmanship from the sport.
Video review
At individual-advancement tournaments, a coach may request a review only of recording points, timing, match results or procedural errors.
The request for the video review should be made to the official scorer at the end of the match and before the bout sheet is removed from the scorer’s table.
It is up to the referee if the video review request is granted.
If granted, the review will only use the official mat-side video.
The official video must be designated by the tournament director before the competition begins. For timing and scoring reviews, the official video should include a clear view of the time and score.
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