NYupstate

Yes, the numbers helped.

You convinced me. A few extra tech falls is not worth the trade-off for a vastly higher number of single takedown matches.

Sorry if this is dense of me, but this means TF were not included in the 6.9 vs 7.9%, correct? I imagine TF are now more common than they were previously, and if they are included that would push the numbers even closer, or into favoring the 3 pt takedown if viewer excitement is the goal. I applaud looking critically at rule changes to make sure they have the desired effect, and to be open to changing other rules in order to keep the sport interesting. Thanks for your contribution to this effort.

Getting a little off-topic here, but doesn't Bill Gates own some North Dakota farmland? I don't know how strong those laws banning "corporate farms" are if this is the case... Bill Gates’ North Dakota Farmland Purchase Approved by the Attorney General - AgWeb I guess it is something that the purchase of land by out of state LLCs has to be approved by the state attorney general. How often does the AG nix a deal?

Is it also morally bankrupt to hold a boy back in elementary school to allow for cognitive and emotional development? The data are very clear being "old" for the grade results in better academic success. I don't see how holding back for athletics is any different than holding back for academics, and many, many parents choose to slow their boy's passage through elementary school for academic reasons. Heck, there is a movement afoot to make it standard practice to start boys a year later than girls. Why Boys Should Start School a Year Later Than Girls - The Atlantic

Will someone explain what the "ballgrab" was? I am new to wrestling and am not familiar with that past part of Freestyle.

On another recent thread that revolves around weigh-in timing, weight management, and cutting I got to wondering if anyone knows of GLP-1s being used for weight management? I thought it better to put on its own thread rather than muddy the other discussion with talk of drugs. It seems like turning appetite down a few notches would make losing weight easier (duh!). But maybe there are side-effects to those drugs that make them undesirable as adjuncts to weight loss when physical performance is the higher level goal (as opposed to fat loss for weight/health reasons being the driving factor). My big picture take is that the fewer pharmacological agents in all sports, not just wrestling, the better. I don't love the idea of ozempic being used to drop pounds for sport, but I have less of a charge around that than I do, say, PEDs.

Re: scale shopping and limited number of referees - the one tournament I volunteered to work a table at this past season filled the gym full, but there would have been space for a "weigh station" at one end of the mats. The referees walked back and forth from the individual mat tables to the official tabulation table every match with slips of paper for recording all the scoring. I think in that situation it would have worked smoothly to have a scale or two next to the officials' table. The two competitors could have met the ref there, weighed-in, and then walked to the mat together. But that is just one tournament in one state. Maybe there are other places such a set-up would be a nightmare? One venue that hosted a tournament had a single mat down the hall in a smaller gym space away from the main scene. Running weigh-ins the way I propose here would have made the matches down the hall take longer as the ref would spend time hiking back and forth from mat to weigh station. It would not have risen to the level of "nightmare" but it would add gaps in the action out on that isolated mat. Or in more computerized score keeping scenarios refs just stay on the same mat without going to the officials' table very often?

I agree it would be bad to reduce the number of weight classes, but I don't see that it necessarily follows that classes would have to be cut to make matside weigh-in feasible.

Can you elaborate on point #3 for me? I'm not sure I got the point you're making there. Are you saying bigger gaps between classes encourages competing at walk-around weight?

Thanks for taking the time - I see how I could have phrased that more elegantly. I was not trying to say somebody in a brace should not wrestle that day. I said, "that is a good question" at the end of my comment, attempting to imply that I hadn't thought of the particular issue and it needed consideration, not that I had all the answers. I can see how it could be read the way you did take it. As other people have said already, this is a logistical hurdle that could be addressed. Maybe when the teams show up anyone who needs a brace or wrap gets put on a list that allows them to "jump the line" a few slots and weigh in when on double deck or however many positions needed to get into their gear.

Perhaps because of the impression it would help maintain muscle mass and cause weight loss from other tissues? I am not saying it does that, just some people might beleive it to be so.

Looks like you nailed it. This is the 3rd comment on the thread.

Thanks for bringing my communication failing to my attention. Can you point me to the comment(s) that made you think I was looking down my nose at others? I read back through the thread and I see other people dropping epithets, but I didn't see anywhere I did. I tried to be clear I want to learn and that when I shared my perspective that it was my opinion, not fact. I was trying to come across as open-minded, not that I didn't have an opinion. I was not the one who immediately turned the thread to the topic of cutting. I just went with the conversational flow. As the health/longevity expert Peter Attia says on his podcast, "strong convictions, loosely held" (he's changed his mind a few times on various practices, based on evidence or lack thereof). Without conviction I won't act, but a tight hold on a conviction makes it very hard or impossible to change even in the face of compelling evidence.

Haha! Knowledgeable sock puppet account is a little more flattering than arrogant know-it-all newbie. You didn't offer it, but I'll continue to take the position of, "concerned parent who thinks wrestling is great and would like rules that make it the best sport it can be". Clearly there are strong opinions around what those rules should be. I do have opinions because of what I've seen already, and the story after story I've heard from people about their experiences. I've only been around wrestling for a short time and I've heard several stories that make me queasy and/or angry. I think the worst of the worst cutting could be reduced with mat side weigh-ins and I wanted to hear reasons for why this is not standard practice in matches. Elevated risk of injury seems to be the big one. I am glad 1032004 brought to my attention that there would be some people who'd take the chance and compete while dehydrated, thus putting themselves at higher risk.