Reviewing the Basics of Greco-Roman Wrestling

The victors in Greco-Roman wrestling matches aregets to perform a maneuver known as the Clinch
decided by a trio of match officials. The first of theagainst his opponent. The Clinch is also called an
officials is the referee who is constantly in motion asupside down belt hold and it is an Olympic lift technique
he follows the wrestling action around the mat. He isused in many wrestling matches. If the wrestlers are
the one who sounds the whistle that will begin and endtied on the scoreboard, the person to do the lift is
the matches. Referees also are the main personsselected by the flip of a disc.
responsible for awarding points and assessingThe wrestler without the advantage must kneel in the
penalties.center of the mat and then bend forward so that the
Scoring is the job of the match judge. This person sitspalms of his hands are also on the mat. The knees
close to one side of the mat and keeps track of themust be separated by a minimum of 8 inches and
points and penalties that the referee is calling out.there must be about 12 inches of separation between
There will be times when this official may be calledthe hands. The wrestler cannot lean backwards and
upon to weigh in on a referee's decisions.the thighs must be kept perpendicular with the surface
The third official used for Greco-Roman style wrestlingof the mat.
matches is a mat chairman. This is the person whoThe wrestler with the advantage then approaches and
times the match, supervises the calls of referees andtakes the dominant position. He can grab his opponent
judges and declares technical superiority. A fall can bearound the waist and perform the Clinch maneuver for
awarded if only 2 of the 3 officials are in agreement.up to 30 seconds. This is done by wrapping his arms
Wrestling matches take place on a central mat in anaround the waist of the wrestler. The disadvantaged,
arena or gymnasium. The action is divided into 3or bottom, wrestler must then try to defend himself
segments. Each of these segments lasts for 2from being thrown or taken down. If he can stop the
minutes. Two wrestlers in a single weight class will betop wrestler from scoring the bottom wrestler will
called by name and come to the mat. They arereceive a point. After the first 30 seconds, the
assigned a color, inspected by the referee and willwrestlers will change positions and the Clinch is
shake hands. Weigh-ins take place just a short whileperformed once again.
before the matches occur. All Greco-Roman wrestlersGreco-Roman wrestling matches are extremely
must meet weight requirements or they are not goinginteresting to watch and the fan base is rapidly
to be allowed to participate in their division. When theincreasing. This is one of the few sports where only
whistle blows, the match will begin and in order to winskill, technique, and strength are involved. Scoring is a
a wrestler has to win 2 of the 3 wrestling time periods.somewhat detailed process and here is a brief
Each of the two minute matches are divided so thatdescription of how points are determined. Takedowns
the wrestlers will compete against each other fromare awarded 1-5 points. Reversals receive 1 point. If a
both the par terre and neutral positions. Whenwrestler can get his opponent into the Danger Position,
opponents are beginning at neutral positions, they musthe receives 2-3 points. A hold down point is award if
try for points and takedowns by using their skill andthe danger position is maintained for 5 seconds.
strength. They are given 60 seconds to chalk up pointsPenalty points are 1-2 points and Out of Bounds
on the scoreboardactivity result in 1 point being given to the wrestler's
After the first minute has elapsed, the higher scoringopponent.
Greco-Roman wrestler is awarded a slight edge. He