The NFHS, the national organization which establishes standards and rules for high school sports, made some sweeping new rule changes that will affect high school wrestlers across the country, and announced them just this week.
While there was a change to the out-of-bounds' rule, changes to the way takedowns and a near-falls are scored could be the biggest adjustment to come out of the latest meetings. All levels of NCAA wrestling adopted the same new rules before last season, and now high schools around the country are following suit.
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"I really liked these rules at the college level, so I think it will just make things that much more exciting at the high school level, too," longtime East head wrestling coach Gene Lee said. "I think it will be a good thing, and the wrestlers that I've talked to are excited about it, too. Everybody seems to think it can work out."
The NFHS, or the National Federation of State High School Associations, writes the rules for 17 different high school boys and girls sports. The NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee held its April 1-3 meeting in Indianapolis, and there were six major rules changes that were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
These moves will affect wrestlers across the country, starting with the 2024-25 season.
'3-takedown'
From now on, a takedown will be worth three points, not two. So while one of the most recognized wrestling officials' sayings has always been "2-takedown," that will change to "3-takedown" starting next season.
"I just think these changes are the right thing to do," said Terry Giardini, a Rockford-area high school wrestling referee for 49 years, and an NCAA college ref for 39 years. "Making it the same at the high school level as it is at the college level will make it easier for the officials. I've been saying, that if we use college rules in high school, we'd have more refs out there."
Inbounds rule
Wrestlers will be inbounds with only one point of contact of either wrestler inside or on the line from now on. Up until now, wrestlers were considered inbounds if two supporting points of either wrestler were inside or on the line. The two supporting points could be two of one wrestler, or one point of each wrestler.
“This change eliminates the subjectivity of the out-of-bounds call,” Elliot Hopkins, NFHS director of sports and student services and liaison to the Wrestling Rules Committee, said in a statement. “The change also helps officials to call ‘out of bounds’ more consistently."
As high as 5 points for near-fall
Another big change coming is the number of points awarded for a near-fall, based on how long the wrestler is held down. According to the new rule, Rule 5-11-3: Two points "will be awarded when near-fall criteria are held for two seconds; three points for three seconds; four points for four seconds; and five points if the defensive wrestler is injured."
This will do two major things: Raise scoring, and speed up tech-falls.
"I actually really like the changes to the points' system," said East junior Donald Cannon, who placed fourth at state at 132 pounds this past winter. "It's really cool. It just gives you a chance to get right back into the match with just one or two moves. No matter how far behind you are, you can always get back in it.
"It's going to be different, but I like it."
Other changes
In some other minor changes, Rule 5-11-4a now says: “If a takedown or reversal, straight to a near-fall criteria creates a 15-point advantage, the match shall continue until the near-fall criteria is no longer met." This just clarifies when a tech-fall will be considered complete.
Another change affects how the 10-foot circle at the center of wrestling mat will be used. Wrestlers will now be encouraged to “stay in the center of the mat,” instead of “within the 10-foot circle.”
The committee also approved a new referee’s time-out signal, which is both hands/fingers pointing inward to the referee’s chest.
According to the 2022-23 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, wrestling is the sixth-most popular sport for boys, with 259,431 participants in 10,962 schools. It's definitely gaining popularity among girls as well, with 50,016 participants in 6,545 schools across the nation.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @JayTaft . Sign up for the Rockford High School Sports newsletter here at rrstar.com . Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star .
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: High school wrestling adopts some new rules, copying college's most recent changes
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