I have some questions on the new weight control plan. I intend to call the NSAA in the morning to ask but I thought I would bring them up on huskermat tonight.

To get the doctor’s exemption to wrestle at a weight which puts you below 7 % body fat do you have to be on weight at the testing? For example is the only way a wrestler can wrestle 125 lbs at 6% body fat, to be at 125 lbs at the body fat testing? Is there anyway a wrestler can be over the weight he wishes to wrestle at the testing and still be allowed to wrestle at that weight even though his body fat projection at that weight is below 7 %? For example the wrestler is above 125 lbs at the testing, but at 125 lbs his projected body fat would be 6%. Would this wrestler be allowed to get a doctor’s exemption? In reality the wrestlers in both my scenarios would be wrestling at 125 lbs with 6% body fat the only difference is that one was on weight for the testing and the other had not yet reached that weight.

The rule reads “If the wrestler’s body fat test result is lower than 7% or 12%, the next higher weight class shall be the wrestler’s minimum weight class. A wrestler requesting to wrestle at the next lower weight class must have a medical examination.
a. The individual giving the medical examination, the purpose of which is to
allow an athlete whose body fat test was below 7%/12% to participate in the next lower weight class, should be medically licensed to diagnose, treat, or recommend treatment.”

As I read this rule the wrestler must be at the weight he wishes to wrestle, at the body fat test, if he hopes to get a medical exemption to wrestle below 7 % body fat. I do not see a provision for getting a medical exemption to move below 7 % body fat, only to wrestle below 7% if you are already there. Let me know if you think my interpretation is wrong or if you have already checked it out with the NSAA.

My next question deals with the 1.5 % descent plan. If a wrestler weighs above the weight in his projected descent plan, he will be given a new descent plan and it will take him longer to make his target weight. Will the projected weight in the descent plan be a weight class or an exact weight? It would be very difficult for a wrestler to be on an exact weight. If it is an exact weight is there some margin of error. What if a wrestler knows he can’t meet the weight on his descent plan for a particular meet can he just sit out that meet so that he does not have to have new descent plan? What if a wrestler is sick and can’t wrestle in a particular week does he have to be put on a new descent plan? What if a team wrestles two times in a week does the wrestler have the same projected weight for both meets? Is the projected weight on the descent plan for the beginning of the week or the end of the week? If it works like the college descent plan I know that at the Dakota Wesleyan Open last year Brett Allgood had to wrestle 141 but could only weigh something like 134 so that he could wrestle the next week at 133. Can a wrestler be lower than his projected weight as long as he wrestles at his projected weight that is on his descent plan?

I am sure many of you have already hashed many of these things out, so fill me in if some of this has already been figured out.

Thanks for any help anyone can give.

Marty,
I don't think the the body fat of a wrestler is projected. I think what the program does is figure the descent plan down to 7% body fat and no lower. If a kid wants to drop a weight and is under 7%, they have to get a doctor note. On the other hand (and this came from Darin) if you have a 103 pounder who makes 103 and is under 7%, they don't have to get a note, since he's not dropping a weight class. I have a couple of kids who will wait to make their weight because I know they'll be under 7%. This will save time because they won't have to go to the doctor (they won't be dropping a weight class).

As far as the 1.5% plan, I believe that the program is designed to give two pieces of information. 1: What weight should the wrestler be at this week and 2: What weight class can that wrestler compete at.

For example, my descent plan says that by the time the first week of competition rolls around, my weight based on this plan should be 131.5. That means that I can compete at 135 or 140. I don't believe they are so much worried about the actual weight, just the weight class. In other words, I might weigh 129, but my plan says I must wrestle 135 or 140 that particular week.

Clear as mud? Let me know if I'm in the wrong!

I believe the actual weight makes a difference from week to week as you are only allowed to lose 1.5% per week. Thus if you weigh in above your target weight for that week that resets the point from which you can lose 1.5% and thus prolongs the time it takes to reach your certification weight.

Which NSAA official is going to be checking each wrestler's weight every week to make sure he doesn't go below the 1.5%?

You are required to have the documentation with you at each weigh in. Whether they check it or not, I don't know. I would think it would be easy to check with weigh in's being conducted by teams now. Have two refs, one reading of actual weight and the other checking the coaches documentation.

Also, if I remember right...if the coach does not have the documentation or the wrestler cheats the coach is suspended from the next competition. I think this is right, I've read the info so much that I may be making up my own rules now

ipinem:
Acutally, the wrestler gets suspended, which is how it should be in the first place.

My point is that the only time they'll check weights (1.5% descent) is during the weigh-ins for competition, not in between. Theoretically, my plan could say that I can get down to 140, and I could weigh 150 up until the night before, and cut down (dangerously) to 140 for the next day.

Now, the way I understood the weigh-ins was that the Alpha Plan would consist of the weight descent plan, and after each week it would say the allowable weight classes to wrestle. I was under the impression that this is what the refs would be checking. In other words, if my weight descent plan says I'm supposed to be at a certain weight and I weigh in below that, I still have to wrestle at the weights outlined by the plan.

That's correct. You cannot wrestle lower than the weights outlined in the plan. And I think you're also right about how they check the weights.