Dear NWOA Member:

The Rules Committee met in Savannah, Georgia, April 9-12. I will discuss later in this letter the New Rules that will be in force beginning with the 2007-2008 season along with information on the clinics and certification, and other procedures to be instituted. There were essentially no playing rules changes, which I think is a good thing. The videotape for this year’s clinic was made May 14-16, in Kent, Ohio. The presentation will be available in early September for online viewing and registration. Note that again, there will be no teleconference for certification this year. It will be replaced in part by an in-person clinic where you can become certified. The clinic will be held at the NWCA Convention, Horizon Casino Resort, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, 775/588-6211, on Sunday, August 19, beginning at 9:00 am PDT. No registration is necessary since it is sponsored by the NCAA. As in the past, you can view the rules tape and register on the internet by: 1. Log on to the NCAA Web site at www.ncaa.org, 2. Select “Sports and Championships” in the upper right side of the page; 3. Select “Wrestling,” listed under winter sports; 4. Select the “2007-08 NCAA Wrestling Rules Presentation” link. Remember, in order to referee any college wrestling you must attend the August 19 clinic, or view the rules tape before October 19, when the window for viewing the tape closes. As you know the certification is exceedingly important to us. Rule 8.1a states that a referee must be certified in order to referee college matches, tournaments or NCAA Championships. Further, an institution faces significant penalties for using a non-registered referee as stated in Rule 8.1b.

There is a change to the format of this year’s tape. First, we deleted the portion that reviewed last year’s rules changes. We also have separated the rules part from the weight management part, and added a new segment on skin diseases. All referees should view at least the rules part and the skin disease part. Again, the NCAA website will be open for certification until October 19. Please pass this information on to your referee colleagues.

The 2007 Division I Championships were held at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI, March 15-17, 2007. They were very successful with great crowds and the finals being shown on ESPN in prime time and in real-time. Also, the semifinals were shown in real time on ESPN U. The quarterfinals were taped and shown in regional markets on a delayed basis. The 2007 Division II Championships were held at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, March 9-10, and the 2007 Division III Championships were held at Loras College, March 2-3. All tournaments were well attended and successful. The Division I Championships in 2008 will be held at the Scottrade Center, St. Louis, March 20-22, 2008. The DI Championships for 2009, 2010 and 2011 will be held in St. Louis, Omaha, and Philadelphia, respectively. The 2008 Division II and III tournaments will be held at the US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, March 14-15 and 7-8, respectively. All referees should regularly visit our website at http://www.nwoaofficials.org/ for updates to rules, interpretations, and general announcements on refereeing and the NWOA.

Please find enclosed the minutes of the NWOA business meeting held March 16, 2006 at the site of the Division I Championships in Michigan.

In developing the new rules, a number of proposed changes were submitted by coaches, referees, and friends of wrestling. In considering changing the rules, the tabulated results from the Questionnaire were listed along with each suggested rules change. Therefore, it is important for each of you to fill out the questionnaire every year (it will be posted on the NWCA website in January.) Also, look for information on our website. The committee thoroughly and carefully considered all suggestions. The major changes affecting us are:

Rule 2.11.2 The recording of time advantage (riding time) is required for use in all competition. Dual meets, team advancement tournaments and tournament competition that do not utilize time advantage shall not count on the NCAA Individual Season Record Form.

Rule 3.4.3 In team advancement tournaments, the one-pound allowance will only be granted to individuals who weighed in during the first day of competition.
Wrestlers reporting to weigh-ins for team advancement tournaments or individual advancement tournaments shall appear at the mat properly groomed. For example, clean shaven and with hair not longer than allowed by rule. Failure to comply shall be penalized as follows: first offense – warning, second offense – warning, third offense – deduct one team point, fourth offense – deduct two team points and remove head coach from the premises, fifth and subsequent violations – deduct two team points. Violations are accumulative by team for all days a weigh-in is conducted.

Rule 4.3.1 For all competition, it is required that all clothing (i.e. sweats, warm-ups, shorts, T-shirts) worn by a student-athlete in the competition area is either unadorned (plain) or of the representative institution’s school colors.

Rule 6.5 In the definition of Unnecessary Roughness, the following have been added “a forceful slap to the head or the face, gouging or poking the eyes.”

Rule 6.6.1 A clarification to the Flagrant Misconduct rule states that: A wrestler disqualified for committing an act of flagrant misconduct shall be suspended from the institution’s next scheduled wrestling competition and shall not compete following the suspension until it is with the team at the team’s next scheduled wrestling competition. Also, the referee shall alert: Pat McCormick, National Coordinator of Officials, at pat.mccormick@hamptonu.edu or 757-719-5061 that a flagrant misconduct violation occurred. It is not necessary to notify anyone else. The National Coordinator of Officials will contact the respective divisional chair who will communicate with the violating student-athlete’s institutional administration to ensure the suspension is served. The table scorer is required to inform the head coach that a team member has been charged with a flagrant misconduct violation.

As you can see, there is no playing rule change for the 2007-2008 season.

Video Points of Emphasis
1. Incorrect starting positions
2. Fleeing
3. Head slaps and eye poking

In addition, some new pictures have been added to the illustrations section. Specifically, pictures of a legal draping head scissors, illegal head scissors, illegal twisting ankle hold, full nelson and a near fall criterion whereby the scapula are held within four inches of the mat.

In the video clips, I showed illegal head slaps and eye pokes where wrestling should have been stopped and a penalty assessed, or as a minimum if not severe enough, the offending wrestler should have been admonished, thus using a good technique of preventative refereeing that stops this offense before it becomes a serious problem. The penalty called should be Unnecessary Roughness as mentioned above as being explicitly added to Rule 6.5. I also stressed fleeing, which has been an issue with the rules committee for a number of years. In instituting the new offensive starting position this past season, it became clear that many referees were not pausing at all after the palm of the wrestler’s hand was on or over the near elbow of his/her opponent. The committee feels strongly that a referee must pause before blowing his whistle to start wrestling, and therefore, I showed a number of examples of starts in which there was no pause and some where there was a minimum pause. Finally, I showed a lot of tough calls which I hope you enjoy watching.

For those of you eligible to buy an updated version of the NWOA ring, it can be ordered from Pat Fitzgerald, our Vice President, by calling him at 405-273-0172, or by email at fitztown@aol.com. If you have refereed any combination of five (5) NCAA Division I, II, or III Championships, or one (1) Division I finals match, you are eligible. The cost for the standard ring is $375.00 plus postage. However, if you have some extra money, it can be ordered in gold and even with real diamonds. Write or call Lynn for the ring costs that include these options.

Please support the NWOA, the official voice for the college referee, and a source of support for all officials, by promptly paying your dues ($10) to Lynn Dyche. The annual dues cover July to July and, therefore, should now be paid. Also, remember that you can subscribe to Amateur Wrestling News either with a second class mailing ($30) or first class mailing ($45).

Have a great summer and do not hesitate to call or email me if you need further information or clarification about the rules, or any wrestling call/rule, or good refereeing practice.

Yours in Wrestling,

Pat McCormick, President
NWOA