Line is in

Up in Alaska we've been wrestling since early October and I have to say that the new line rule has been the most difficult rule change I've had to adapt to in the 20 years I've been officiating. 20 years of looking at that line as being out and now it's in. Tough habit to break but I'm coming around to it. It's easy when a takedown occurs and you look at the toes, but where it gets a bit tougher is when there is action going on at the edge and wrestlers are moving in and out of the line. It seems that I'm more likely to have them be out and come back in, (while trying to figure out of each had a supporting point out) then I am blowing the whistle too early while they are still inbounds. Mats with contrasting colors makes it easier than mats with the two inch line.

In the big scheme of things, this rule didn't change much and I wish they would have just left it alone or have done it right and make a significant change to have only one supporting point of one wrestler be inbounds.

At my first HS tournament with the new line rule this weekend, I caught myself concentrating too much on the new OOB which initially led to me allowing some wrestling to continue when I shouldn't have. After about 20 min or so it started to become more natural and by the end of the weekend it didn't faze me. I did have a fall on the line and noticed several lifts that would have been called OOB last year that were allowed to continue.

In my opinion there was no reason to make this change....we gained all of 4" of wrestling area. Not worth the trouble if you ask me.

WT

WT,

I think we only gained 2" of wrestling area.

we've gained 2" at any given spot on the edge but the diameter of the wrestling area on a mat with 2" lines has increased by 4"

either way...not much gain.

And, given a minimum 28' diameter mat, gives an increase in the wrestling area from 86,569 to 88,668 square inches - an increase of 2,099 square inches (or 14.57 square feet). Which is pretty significant, given how much wrestling is done at the edge.

Or, for those mats which had no 2" line, but instead just a contrasting color - a net gain of zero.

:-)

I understand the frustration with the rule change too but consider this. No doubt we all want to get every call right, and takedowns and reversals on the line are in my opinion one of the hardest calls we see. But I let the team and the coaches know this before the match: I am going to do my best to make the right call wherever it occurs on the mat whether it be in the middle or on the line. However, I don't tolerate much argument on the close calls on the line due to the fact that the wrestlers really shouldn't be there in the first place. They should be wrestling in the 10 foot circle. So I try not to lose too much sleep if I give my best effort and still miss a close one on the line.

It is early summer now and I've had time to reflect on the line change. It is manageable. My viewpoint contradicts that of NFHS. It seems in most sports when the out of bound line is touched the contestant is out. Some wrestlers are able to play the edge to their advantage. My solution is to make out of bounds a technical violation; unless the wrestler is forced out the first touch is a warning, thereafter one point. Now the out of bounds line can be moved outward if the desire is to increase the wrestling area. Ideas, comments?