Wrestlers Experience Changes Wednesday, November 30, 2011 By Senior Zach Nuss Caleb Quigley and Trevor Burkhart practice grappling during practice. - Zach Nuss Advertising The human race has been wrestling for thousands of years, from making war to a favorite past time sport. It has gone through many changes throughout its history to make it a better, safer, but still intense and physically demanding sport. The changes range from the athlete's head gear, the weight classes, certain dangerous moves that you can’t perform anymore, and the way combatants are allowed to lose weight. MSHSAA, Missouri High School Activities Association, is the are the governing body for Missouri,  but the rules are usually carried down from the national level. This year several changes will be in play as wrestlers head out on the mats. The first change in policy is to do with the wrestlers head gear. Wrestlers are not allowed to have tape on their head gear now, unlike in the past when a wrestler could put tape on their head gear of any shape or design. “Tape can cause headgear to not be worn properly and potentially hurt other wrestlers,” said Cameron High School Wrestling Coach Philip Limb. The second change in policy is the change of the weight classes back to the old ones. The weight classes are now 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220, and 285; instead of 103, 112, 119, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 171, 189, 215, and 285. “I think that the changing of the weight classes is better for wrestling overall, but it might cause a little problem for Cameron because we don’t have big enough guys to wrestle at 285 and 220 and still be successful at those weight classes,” said Senior Wrestler Landon Ocker. Despite so many weight classes for a wrestler to choose from, most will choose to wrestle down. In the past, many wrestlers were desperate to cut weight and went to extremes, often to the detriment of their own bodies. The weight management program has the answer.  “The weight management program regulates weight loss based on body fat. This determines how much weight can be lost per week and total and does not allow the wrestler to wrestle with a body fat index fewer than 7%. If their body fat is less than 7%,  they will need a doctor’s approval to be allowed to compete,” said Wrestling Parent Jeff Nuss. The forth change is that a wrestler is no longer allowed to ‘Figure Four’ the head. The Figure Four is when a wrestler sits above a fallen opponent and wrap their legs around the opponent in the form of the figure 4, with one leg crossing under the opponent's chin and under the wrestler's other leg the wrestler squeezes and chokes the opponent. The figure four has always been a concern, and this new rule prevents the gray area of determining whether it is a scissor to the head or a figure four. So instead of arguing it is a scissor or a figure four to the head, MSHSAA decided to get rid of the problem altogether and make the move illegal. Wrestling is a growing sport. The knowledge of the sport continues to grow and more young kids will get involved in one of the oldest sports around. The hope is these new rules will encourage future athletes to wrestle knowing that their safety is increased. These rules can change every year, but for now these rules stand and are for the betterment of the sport.

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