Freestyle Wrestling History

Freestyle wrestling is considered as one of the oldest sports in history. A form of amateur wrestling, it is very popular across the world and practiced in different regions around the world.  Participants of almost all age groups enjoy this form of sport as it offers a great deal of flexibility and is quite exciting.

Freestyle wrestling is actually one of the four key forms of proletarian competitive wrestling. Other three forms are Greco-Roman, judo, and sambo. All four types are widely popular and practiced internationally. Freestyle wrestling competitions are organized in different part of the world; though the rules, methods and regulations differ from one region to another.

The origin of freestyle wrestling was "catch-as-catch-can" wrestling, that has been carried out since time immemorial. In this type of wrestling, the wrestler wins by pinning his opponent on the ground or on the mat. The modern version of freestyle wrestling was nurtured in the UK and in the U.S. Mention of Lancashire City must be made as the practitioners of this place largely contributed to the development of this sport.

In the US, freestyle wrestling is largely known as collegiate, scholastic or folk-style wrestling. It achieved huge popularity after the Civil War. Starting from the early 1880s, tournaments and competitions attracted hundreds of freestyle wrestlers. Freestyle wrestlers soon formed respective teams. The New York Athletic Club was one of the pioneers during that time. It organized the first tournament in 1878 which was a success. Emergence of such clubs footed the freestyle wrestling in the US society which is still continuing to grow. By the mid 1870s, professional freestyle wrestling championship matches offered allowances of $1,000 to the participants. Now days, Most of the high schools and colleges have their freestyle wrestling teams. These teams take part in different competitions throughout the year.

The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), situated in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the authority that controls all the aspects of this sport. The FILA has been publishing rules and regulations of the sport from 1921. This organization is also responsible for scoring and procedures during the World Games and the Summer Olympics competition.

At present, freestyle wrestling has four main age categories. These categories are seniors, juniors, cadets and schoolboys. Most popular with majority of participants are found in the senior levels. In a freestyle wrestling match, two individual wrestlers contest and try to pin his opponent on the ground. These individual wrestlers should be from the same weight class. Along with individual matches, freestyle wrestling also includes duel meet. Duel meet is a team competition; a meeting between teams competing against each other. Teams get one point for every victory, regardless of the weight class.

A jury of three officials, also known as referees, conducts the match. Typically, a referee is in charge of the match and he stays in the center. He possesses a whistle, which is used to start and stop the match. He also administers the scoring of holds and infractions. The judge sits just outside the mat. He keeps score and seldom provides approval if and when required by the referee. The mat chairman generally sits at the scoring table. He keeps time and is accountable for declaring technical superiority of the contesters. The mat chairman also supervises the performance of the referee and judge. In a freestyle wrestling match, at least two of the three officials must agree to call a pin.