Following is a letter from FILA President Mr. Raphael Martinetti concerning the applications of some of the new rules for international wrestling put in place last year. This letter is accompanied by a PDF attachment of a diagram showing how the Greco-Roman clinch is to be executed by placement in the center circle of the mat.

View Diagram for Greco-Roman Clinch

I - Clinch in Greco-Roman wrestling - Article 51

During the last World Championships in Budapest, referees noticed many mistakes during the application of the "par terre" hold position ordering.

The Officiating Department with its director, Mr. Mario Saletnig, set up the following instructions during its meeting on November 4, 2005 in Rome, which are not rules changes and which come into effect immediately.

In the 1 meter center circle of the wrestling mat, a rectangle will be drawn according to the attached drawing (linked below in PDF format) in order to define the position of the two wrestlers during the "par terre" ordered position.

The wrestler who is ordered into the "par terre" position must place his hands and his knees inside the rectangle drawn in the circle (see annex A).

The wrestler who must carry out the action and is in standing position, may not cross over the line with his feet. He can touch the line, but he is not allowed to cross over the line.

The wrestler who carries out the hold, shall also do so by locking the arms on both sides at the same time (not one after another).

If one of the two wrestlers does not comply with these instructions and the one in "par terre" hold position, the penalty procedure will be applied as follow:

A - If the fault is made by the ordered "par terre" wrestler:
*1st time: warning (and to advise the wrestler not to move and to stay in the rectangle, etc.).
*2nd time: a caution to be requested and 2 points to be attributed to the wrestler on the top.
*The wrestler at fault who was "par terre" return to "par terre" until the end of 30 seconds.

B - If the fault was made by the wrestler who shall carry out the action and is in a standing position:
*1st time: warning (to advise why - incorrect hold, or crossing over the line).
*2nd time: a caution to be requested and 1 point to be awarded to the wrestler underneath.
*The advantage of carrying out the hold is withdrawn from the wrestler, and wrestling is resumed in a standing position until the end of 30 seconds. If at the end of 30 seconds, this wrestler does not score a technical point, the penalty procedure will be applied (1 point and a caution)

View Diagram for Greco-Roman Clinch


II - Clinch in Freestyle - Article 51

It is reminded here again that for the clinch in freestyle, the wrestler in a standing position, must place his hands on the back of his opponent until the whistle of the referee. After the whistle, wrestling can take place normally. The defensive wrestler must be in standing position in the center of the circle and hold out the leg chosen by his opponent - the winner of the coin toss.


III - Fleeing the mat and fleeing holds - Article 53 and 54

It is also reminded that fleeing the mat in the standing position by a wrestler gives 1 point to the opponent without knowing whether the wrestler was pushed outside or not.

On the contrary, in the par terre wrestling, action consisting in carrying his opponent outside will be penalized by 1 caution to the wrestler carrying outside and 1 point to his opponent.

The wrestler in the standing position that is consistent in keeping his opponent away or breaking the contact, shall be penalized by 1 caution and 1 point to the opponent as it is foreseen when fleeing holds.


IV - Scoring during bouts by teams - Article 30

The attribution of the ranking points in the same way as those attributed during individual matches to determine the victory by team because of the ranking - 5 points, 4 points or 3 points - brings about unusual situations where a team with the most victories, may lose the match.

For this reason, during the bouts by team, the score will be made by adding victories and defeats. For example, a team of 7 wrestlers with 4 victories wins the match, that is to say that each individual victory is 1 point, with no points going to the loser.

In case of a championship with several teams, each victory by team equals to 2 points.

At the end of a championship, if 2 teams have the same number of points, the result of their direct meeting will determine the winner.

If several teams have the same number of points, the ranking will be determined according to the criteria currently in force: A) The most victories during the championship; B) Value of the victory; C) Technical points received and scored.

I thank you for your collaboration and for strictly applying these decisions.

Mr. Raphael Martinetti
FILA President