Wrestling the weight issue
New rules to prevent rapid loss
By Kyle Nagel
Dayton Daily News
Mike Moyer’s informal polling system generally begins between the complimentary soft drink and bag of peanuts.
“I never go a full flight without asking the person next to me, ‘When you think of high school wrestling, what comes to mind?’ ” said Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
For many people, it’s a memory of a classmate spitting into a cup during class, tapping water onto his lips without swallowing or sitting fully clothed in a sauna. Whatever the mental picture, the answer is often the same.
“Nine out of 10 times, “Moyer said, “their response has something to do with weight loss.”
That’s a perception the sport is fighting to eliminate. Last month, the National Federation of State High School Associations announced groundbreaking weight management rules meant to prevent rapid and unhealthy weight loss in wrestling. The somewhat controversial guidelines also focus on eliminating negative public opinion by shifting the sport’s focus from shedding pounds to improving skills.
The regulations include a weekly limit for weight loss and mandate that body fat and hydration levels be used in determining weight class. They have been met with mixed emotions by the wrestling community.
Ohio is one of 18 states that already has policies concerning weight management. Now, the Ohio High School Athletic Association must decide how to test body fat and hydration in the most cost-effective way for the state’s 521 teams.
The new NFHS rules take effect beginning in the 2006-07 school year.
“Most people that I know who wrestle do cut weight, “said freshman Daniel Kolodzik, the only member of the Miami Valley School’s wrestling team and last season’s Division III state champion at 103 pounds. “But a majority of people do it the right way. I probably know a few who do it in an unhealthy way, but not very many.”
Most agree wrestling has a negative reputation for endangering the health of its participants, a view partially fueled by three college wrestling deaths in 1997. But not everyone feels legislation is necessary.
“I have yet to see any data that tells me there’s a problem, “said Gary Wise, the Beavercreek HIgh School coach and vice president of the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association. “There was a problem one year, yes, but I have not seen that at the high school level.”
Even so, the sport carries a past full of inventive ways to beat the scales. Some wrestlers used to bundle up in winter clothing and lie on steam pipes. There’s even a myth that standing on your head during weigh-ins can hide a few tenths of a pound.
“What a great sport it is, “said Henry Zaborniak, the OHSAA assistant commissioner in charge of wrestling, “if you get beyond all the weird history involved.”
Losing less weight
On Nov. 7, 1997, after working out 12 hours to lose 15 pounds, 19-year-old Campbell University wrestler Billy Jack Saylor died of a heart attack. Within the next 32 days, two other wrestlers ” Joseph LaRosa, 22, of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Jeff Reese, 21, of the University of Michigan ” died after working out extensively to drop weight.
Since then, wrestling officials at the high school and college levels have worked toward legislation to curb rapid weight loss, which the NFHS succeeded in passing April 11 at its annual meetings.
According to the new rules, each wrestler must be tested for hydration level and undergo a body fat assessment prior to the season. A wrestler’s minimum weight will be his or her weight at 7 percent body fat (males) or 12 percent body fat (females), which is determined through a mathematical equation with the current body fat count. Throughout the season, the maximum allowed weight loss is 1.5 percent per week.
“Kids can get obsessed with it, and they’ll do absolutely anything, “said Michelle Kitze, a clinical dietician at Good Samaritan Hospital who has spoken to numerous athletic groups, including wrestlers and coaches. “They don’t think in the long term. They think, ‘I can drop 12 pounds to get into this new weight class and kick butt.’
“Sure, most of the time it might not cause any problems and their bodies will correct themselves. But, it’s so risky what they’re doing. I’m very pleased to see these guidelines.”
In Ohio, wrestlers were already required to certify their minimum weight in writing by early January and compete for at least half of the season at a weight to enter the state tournament in that class. However, no rules had been set for body fat and hydration testing.
“We discussed it and discussed it and discussed it, “Zaborniak said. “We decided we were not going to do that until we were required by rule. So it looks like we’ll have to come up with a plan.”
That could include a number of methods. Body fat can be assessed by the traditional pinching of the skin with a caliper or the more accurate water displacement test. Other techniques use compressed air or bioelectric impedance scales, which test body fat, weight and hydration with a small electric current. Hydration could also be tested with a urine sample.
Zaborniak estimated that body fat and hydration testing will cost between $5-10 per wrestler.
Whatever the method, a plan must be in place in less than two years. Many hope these regulations will help improve public relations and perhaps bolster interest for a sport mired by decreases in teams and participation in the past three decades.
“People in wrestling have been working on this for seven or eight years, “said Bill Roll, the longtime Versailles High School coach. “They’re trying to change the mindset that you have to cut weight to be successful.”
Debating the issue
The days of choosing a weight class might be over. Soon, instead of a wrestler picking his own weight, the assessment of a wrestler’s body will determine one’s minimum weight.
Some feel that’s not necessary.
“I think this is way overkill, “said Wise, Beavercreek’s coach. “I don’t believe we’re going to change the public’s perception with this. Plus, I haven’t seen any problem that needs fixing.”
Moyer contends that a problem exists. In some states, he said, doctors’ notes are the preferred method of weight certification. He was surprised earlier this year while visiting one of those states to find at least 14 wrestlers in a modest sampling who were competing at weights unhealthy for their body types.
Meanwhile, wrestling remains a sport fighting for consistentgrowth. According to NFHS numbers, high school wrestling reached its peak in 1976-77, with 355,160 wrestlers nationwide. That number dropped to 216,453 by 1995, but rallied to 244,984 four years ago. Last season, 238,700 students participated in wrestling.
Many see these new rules as a sign for hesitant parents and students that wrestling no longer is a danger to one’s health.
“Especially for moms and dads, “said Dave Carlsrud, chairman of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee. “They want to know their kids are safe. So we’re going to keep them safe.”
Contact Kyle Nagel at (937) 225-7389.
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