What is the correct ruling of this? Shouldn't the kid be hurt before stopping the match? I know this mainly pertains to the younger kids, but what age should this not really be used.

Unfortunatly this rule applies even to high school kids, as it pertains to NFHS rule 5-9-2f through i. I'm not exactly sure I like the tradeoff of 1 point to get off your back but thats just the way it is.

To answer your question though clover technically the answer is No. All a kid has to do is "indicate" he is injured. In fact they can in essence call a "time-out" in a manner of speaking. I have seen kids take a time out to get a drink of water. Of course you are only allowed two time-outs per match so the cry rule could only be used twice a match.

We questioned this rule during a recent tournament. Our 10U son was losing in points and it was the 3rd period, but when the opponent made a mistake, our son took him to his back and, according to head ref that was shown the tape - should have gotten the pin - with 5 second left in the match. However, the other wrestler's coach was actually on the sidelines yelling at his kid to "scream". Which the kid did - and when the ref blew the whistle he told our coaches he had to stop it because the kid screamed. After the match, when we showed the tape to the head ref and questioned the call, we were told the match should not have been stopped because the child was not in any danger of getting hurt - only of losing the match. I understand there is a time and a place for this rule, however, I don't feel that coaches should be teaching their kids to use it as a way to avoid losing a match.

This "time-out" thing has me really confused. I can understand if a wrestler is hurt or if they feel they are in a situation that they feel they could be injured (can't breathe or their neck is about to break). What I am confused about is the fact that a wrestler can take a "time-out" to get a drink of water or take a breather just because they are tired. THIS IS WRESTLING NOT BASKETBALL. We should not be allowed to take a 30 second time out, because we are tired. I feel this comprimises the inegrity of the sport and as a coach I do not see how you can allow your wrestler to take a "time-out" because he/she is out of shape or tired. We know when one of our wrestlers are injured as opposed to "out of breath". And as an official how can you allow a wrestler take a "time-out" just to get a drink of water. I feel you have a responsibility to keep the action moving, outside of injury of course. I really would like to know what coaches and officials think that stoping a match to get a drink of water and catch one's breath is acceptable

The rule needs revisited by the national committee. But don't think that it's just little kids that use the rule to their advantage.

I've seen "timeouts" called in college matches when a takedown was imminent.

The official has to take proper precaution and error in the side of safety. Most don't like it, but it's a lot easier than going to court because Tommy's arm was broke and he didn't stop the match to prevent further injury. Since the official is not a doctor, he has to error on the side of caution.

If this did happen - there is nothing to stop the official for removing the coach from the premisis. Nigel, what's the ruling on "unsportsmanlike conduct by coaches". I don't have my book handy. I would equate it to "punch him in the face." If a coach were to tell his wrestler that and the kid did it, most would say the coach would be removed. To me, these are similar situations.

Earliet this year in Tulsa we watched a wrestler that has been undefeated for 4 years, get in a situation where he was about to get rolled to his back and with back poings would have lost 3-1, pull his head scarf that covered his dread-locks off. The ref stopped the match and allowed him to fix it. 40 seconds later and after a quick drink the match restarted and he was able to hold on without getting rolled for the additional 20 seconds. He was extremely tired before this and I don't think he could have held out for the 20 seconds. Smart move on his part, but I don't think it was fair.

There should be a clear rule on this and all refs should enforce it.

First to proud mom,

Although I can certainly appreciate they way you feel over being a victim of this circumstance NFHS rule 3-1-8 clearly states that "The referee shall not use TV monitoring, replay, or other video equipment in making decisions related to the match." So what I am telling you is that the head ref who looked at the tape was wrong in doing so.

Coach Craig

I myself personally will not allow a wrestler to take a time out just to get a drink of water, however if they do indicate injury and I feel like it is warranted I will grant the time-out, at this point they are free to take a drink, blow their nose, any of these thing during their 1:30 seconds they are allowed.

Gibby, you are absolutly correct when you mentioned that a coach can be removed from the premesis for inciting their kid to take a time out when they are not injured. This is considered unethical and thus unsportsmanlike and will be penalized accordingly But I can't say that I have ever heard a coach actually yell at their wrestler to tell the ref he's hurt. I had a situation this past weekend where a kid was winning by two points they were neutral his opponent got a deep double in on him and he was going straight to his back he indicated blood to me I saw it and I stopped the match. By rule I had to give the takedown because the oppoenent already secured it, I also had to give two near fall points because they were immenant. The kids coaches thanked me and told me they knew I had to do what i did. I have however heard a coach tell his wrestler not to get up after he was hurt by an illegal move and thus he won the match by default ( There was a situation like this that happened to a Concordia high school kids several years back ). I do commonly hear kids coaches tell their wrestler who is near the edge of the mat to "look where they are at" and "Just a few more feet" Its fairly obvious what they mean but you sort of have to be lenient on that unless the top wrestler is physically tryingto pull them back ono the mat, its then a technical violation on the bottom.

Wrestlingparent, the situation you described would be a textbook definition of unsportsmanlike conduct. if he pulled his own head scarf off to avoid going to his back the ref should not have stopped the match because you can't stop a match when significant action or points are immenant. If he did stop the match and he saw him pull the scarf off then he should have awarded a point to the other wrestler for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Great point Nigel. One question though. Often when my kids are close the the edge, I tell them to look where they are at, not to prevent a score but to make sure they know where they are so they don't hit a move only to be out of bounds and not get a score. If anyone watched my kid's on Mat 14 last weekend, they would have seen that our boys used the edge of the mats very effectively to score and when risking not scoring from that position either stagger stepped toward the center or just broke and moved to the center in order to make sure that they got the points when they hit the move. I will agree with you that too often all of the situations you describe are just a blantant attempt to prevent losing a match or giving up points. Education, just like you did with your post is the key to improving the sport and contestants and kids actions. For the sake of the sport, we must work to make the action continue at a fast pace (it is more exciting to fans than stalling) and awarding points as you did in the above example for imminent danger is exactly right. Wish more refs would give the 2+2 in that situation.

Thank you okdad, I often try to educate with my posts on here and at tournaments as well. Sometimes there is a situation where a coach wants to conference with me at the table bascially to argue a judgement call. I then give him the quick and dirty version and hurry back to the mat. After the match is over I will usually go back over there and give them a much more detailed version. As far as using the edge of the mat, wrestlers must be very careful not to present themselves a situation where they are using it to their advantage, such as turning their back to the edge when they are close so that if their opponent shoots on them they end up out of bounds rule 7-6-3b covers this as a stalling tactic, I can't say I've every had to call that particular situation though because you don't really see it in kids wrestling, and most high schoolers know better. As far as imminent points being awarded you have to be very careful that you are sure they were actually going to happen, because its a quick way to get a coached fired up.

Those posting their opinions on this topic are only venting frustration in how this rule is enforced. I do not think anyone is saying that there is no need for a rule that allows officials to stop action to prevent injury. However, I agree with Gibby, criteria of what should constitute a stoppage of a match needs to be reviewed. Officials are advised on how to enforce certain rules every year at the officials meetings. No one would ague that there is a great deal of “judgment” that goes into the decision making process to stop action in a match. That is why it is useless to debate this while in the heat of battle on the mat. This forum offers the perfect opportunity for such debate. Through this debate, maybe everyone involved will become better educated, which should lead to less controversy on Saturday afternoons.

I believe that this rule is used too often to get a kid out of trouble when scoring or a fall is eminent and no “real” grave threat exists. For example, if a kid has been turned with a front head lock and is in the position of a dieing cockroach tapping his feet, isn’t it safer to let the action continue a couple seconds to the inevitable pin. Or should the “cry baby” rule be enforced, giving the opponent an opportunity to get out of trouble. My contention would be that if the wrestler in this position was hurting to the point that he has to tap out should he really be in any condition to continue the match. Too often you will see the kid jump up ready to get after it, with no lasting affects. This happened in Salina this past weekend. If more officials had the fortitude to let the action continue, I think it would lead to less tears and drama in the long run. Kids would quickly realize that they are on their own and may actually look for ways to counter the troubled position they found themselves in.

That being said…I know this is a judgment issue. Hopefully discussing it in a civil manor during the week may help avoid any disputes come weekend.