Fellow Members,
We are putting ourselves in harms way to allow near fall wrestling in another competitive area! Here is why:
1. The rule was created for standard HS size mats with safety boundaries that are NEVER occupied by other wrestlers or officials.
2. A wrestler bridging to avoid being pinned is very helpless in the event there is a fall onto them.
We will not be allowing ANY near fall situations where the out of bounds line is shared by another competitive wrestling area if I am involved with the tournament and I encourage all of you to follow this example.
It is negligent for us to believe that officials should judge whether or not it is safe or not. The fact is, it is NOT ever safe to share a competitive area.
Lets also explore the fairness...If Johnny or Suzy has Jimmy or Jane on her back for a two count and wrestlers come into the shared area and the official blows the whistle. Two points are awarded. Same situation occurs in the next period and Jimmy or Jane get the full five count and thus 3 near fall points and win the match by one. Do we REALLY want that much gray area in possible scoring situations? I can see the tempers flaring now.
Lets make it easy and very objective. NO NEAR FALL CRITERIA WRESTLING WILL BE ALLOWED ON A SHARED, COMPETITIVE WRESTLING SPACE.
