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Weight-Loss Rules for Wrestlers

Posted on: Tuesday, 3 May 2005, 18:00 CDT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - High school wrestlers will have to follow a more stringent program to prevent rapid weight loss under rules adopted last week by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Starting in 2006-07, wrestlers may not lose more than 1.5 percent of their weight per week and must maintain body fat of at least 7 percent for boys and 12 percent for girls. Also, their weight-loss plans must be monitored weekly by the schools.

The issue surfaced in 1997 after three college wrestlers died as a result of ailments attributed to excessive weight-loss in an attempt to reach a lower weight class for competition. The NCAA clamped down the next year, and since then, high school athletic associations in at least 18 states also have set standards for the amount of weight wrestlers may lose.

The board of directors of the NFHS also approved reducing the amount of weight wrestlers are permitted to gain during consecutive days of competition. Previously, they were allowed to gain one pound per day. Now, a maximum of two pounds will be allowed, regardless of the number of days of competition.

The rule, along with the one on weight loss, will prevent wrestlers from shedding pounds to reach a lower weight class and then bulking up once the competition has begun.

Source: Providence Journal

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