One of my
favorite sports, and one of the most controversial topics in the sporting world
right now is my subject for today. I felt the need to talk about wrestling
after sitting in a big, stinky, smelly gym for 13+ hours this weekend watching
nothing but men trying to prove who could survive in the circle longer. Many
people would complain, but I was living the dream. I assume that a lot of the
girls who were there were more than likely just present to check out the
hundreds of guys in singlets, but I’m a bit classier than that. I’ve had a
countdown going for weeks until the District tournament; I look forward to it
more than any other weekend of the year! There’s just something about watching
those guys work their butts off all season and having to prove everything they
have in six minutes or less (okay sometimes more with overtimes too). But the
excitement is just unreal and it can’t be compared to any other sport. There isn’t
another sport where there is only one winner and one loser. Only one man will
have his hand raised at the end of the match and the other needs to accept the
defeat and only can improve. That’s a tough lesson to take and a reason I have
so much respect for wrestlers.
A lot of
people don’t ever want to take the time to learn about wrestling because they
stereotype it by thinking it’s just men rolling around and touching each other.
It’s one of the simplest and oldest sports, dating back to the 12th
or 13th century where it was first mentioned by Homer in The Illiad.
I just want
to give a brief account of what wrestling is and also what it means to some
people.
There are a
few different forms of wrestling and each form comes with its own set of rules
and point system.
Olympic wrestling is different than
what I was watching this past weekend. High school wrestling, usually referred
to as “folkstyle” differs from the Olympic events of “freestyle” and
“Greco-Roman.”
Both
folkstyle and freestyle are similar in that they use the same mats, both styles
use the same equipment, and both styles try to score points in one way or
another, ultimately trying to “pin” their opponent. Pinning is when one
competitor, in a controlled manner, is able to force the other competitor on to
his back with shoulder blades touching the mat for a certain period of time.
Both styles also divide wrestlers by weight classes which vary anywhere from
5-15 pounds between weights.
The two
differ in the amount of time a period lasts as well as their point systems.
Folkstyle is three periods, or rounds, that last two or three minutes with
brief rests in between. Freestyle is a bit different in that it could be two,
one-minute periods or perhaps even one, five-minute round. Olympic wrestling is
two rounds which last for three minutes. Now not to really confuse you, but if
a pin occurs, regardless of the amount of time left on the clock the match is
immediately over with the “pinner” being declared the winner. If a pin, often
called “a fall” doesn’t take place, the wrestler with the most points at the
end of a match is given the win. Points are awarded for different moves that
are used to help pin the opponent. The riskier the move, the more points
awarded. In folkstyle, two points are awarded for takedowns (literally the act
of bringing a person to the ground) and reversals (just like it sounds, the
ability to escape from the defensive position and gain power of the offensive
position). A single point will be awarded for an escape (getting out of an
opponent’s hold), and two-three points, often called back points, are given to
a wrestler when they have their opponent’s back near the mat and are in control,
also often referred to as a near fall. Freestyle differs in that takedowns,
near falls, and escapes are all single points, but take downs resulting from
throws can be anywhere from one-four points depending on the difficulty and
execution of the throw.
At this
point you may be thinking to yourself, one minute, two minutes, even five
minutes, that’s nothing! That isn’t a lot of time at all, how hard could it be
to last that long? I asked a few wrestlers what those moments are like. I know
from my years of sitting in the bleachers they’re sometimes fun to watch, but
most of the time it’s extremely nerve-racking. I received a few different
responses but many wrestlers echoed the same thoughts and I’d like to share
them with you.
The guys said that those few
minutes are like the final minutes before the last bell of the school year –
they seem to drag on and can seem like the longest minutes of a person’s life. Most
spend the time thinking of strategy, a game plan, what to do and how to score. They
know that it’s now or never and they need to wrestle smart if they expect to
win. With an easier match sometimes, thoughts may drift to who may be watching
or what they’re going to eat after (if they can eat anything at all!). Thoughts
can be completely crazy and absolutely random, but the biggest thing on
everyone’s mind seems to be strategy. Guys wonder and plan when they should try
a certain move or how they can capitalize if something their opponent tries
falls through. All in all, thoughts vary from match to match, but like any
other sport it’s about strategy, and the long lasting thought of survival of
the fittest.
I’m not
switching gears all that much, but I’d like to pose a question for my fellow
readers: how do you get people from the Middle East, America, and European
nations to all agree on something? Well taking away wrestling as a sport in the
Olympic Games seems to be doing the trick. Whoever would’ve thought that Iran
and America would be on the same page? I mean, two of the most politically
hostile countries have actually become alliances and are fighting together to
make sure wrestling doesn’t disappear from the most sought after championship
in the world.
When the
International Olympic Committee first announced their decision to remove
wrestling, one of the oldest sports in Olympic history, from the summer games
of 2020 I was shocked. Wrestling was first introduced to the Olympics back in
Athens in 1896. (Women’s wrestling was even added in 2004 to give women the
same chance at competition as men.) I didn’t, and still don’t understand how a
century later it’s being removed?
After the Olympic board (IOC) looked over the
26 sports played in the summer Olympic Games, the decision to eliminate one
sport to allow another onto the program was acted upon.
In last
year’s London Olympics, 344 athletes competed in eleven freestyle events and
seven Greco-Roman. Of the 68 countries that were in the Olympics, 21 were
awarded a medal in wrestling.
Wrestling
is up against seven other sports bidding for the remaining spot in the 2020
games. Those sports are baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports,
sport climbing, wakeboarding, and wushu (a martial art).
I don’t
really understand why a sport such as golf is being added to the 2016 games? How
is golf proving itself as a sport? It takes almost zero athletic ability. Yes,
I will admit it is a challenging sport – one that takes years of practice to
finally master, but it isn’t as challenging physically, or even emotionally as
wrestling. Golfers have their own crowns and respective competitions. Isn’t the
Masters enough for them? The same goes for cycling, tennis, football, and
basketball. The Tour de France, Wimbledon, Super Bowl, and NBA Finals are all
the ultimate win for the sports I just mentioned. The Olympic Games is all that
wrestling has.
The
decision to take wrestling off the program was first introduced after 39
different factors were analyzed. These included: television ratings, ticket
sales, anti-doping policy, global participation, popularity, and also
political, emotional, and sentimental factors reviewed by the fifteen member
board. (http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/02/12/ioc-drops-wrestling-2020-olympics.html) Wrestling also ranked low in the
rating system of the Olympic Games. Of the 113,851 tickets available, only 116,
854 were sold, and the poor viewing on television broadcasts (23 million
average of a maximum 58.5 million viewers), wrestling was considered not worth
continuing to support nationally. (http://espn.go.com/olympics/wrestling/story/_/id/8939185/ioc-drops-wrestling-2020-olympics)
People are
outraged that the pentathlon event, the other lowest ranking sport that was
originally going to be removed from the Olympics, wasn’t voted off instead of
wrestling. The event represents 108 countries compared to the 177 that have
participated in wrestling. The event was founded in 1912 and is five different
events combined in to one (pistol shooting, fencing, 200 meter freestyle, show
jumping, and a 3 km cross country run.) In my opinion the pentathlon is more of
a sport than golf or table tennis and the IOC needs to really review what the
criteria should be for an even to be considered an Olympic sport.
Mark Adams,
spokesman for the IOC told ESPN that the board is going through a process to
renew and renovate the program for the Olympics. This decision was made not to
hurt the sport of wrestling, but to help the other 25 core sports. (http://espn.go.com/olympics/wrestling/story/_/id/8939185/ioc-drops-wrestling-2020-olympics)
The meeting to propose which sports
to include in the 2020 games will take place in May in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Those who are pushing for the sport to be included have high hopes for this
“home-field advantage”. In the London games, Russia brought home 11 wrestling
medals, more than any other country. Many are hopeful that his wrestling
dominated country will be able to influence the board on making a decision
regarding the status of wrestling. The final decision will be made in September
in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The IOC board believes that
removing wrestling because of its low ratings will help modernize the Olympics.
My personal opinion is that it is going to make a major impact and hurt the
games. I feel that boycotts will take place and people who are beyond
passionate about the sport may even start riots. Wrestling is not only a
popular sport in a variety of countries, but it is almost as historic as the
Olympics themselves. There is a deep root of tradition in wrestling and it has
become a sport of universality. Again, just look at Iran and America, fighting
for the same thing. If it can bring these two countries together it must be
something worth saving.
Do you believe wrestling is worth
keeping in the Olympics, or do you think it should be replaced with something
else? Post your comments below and voice your opinion.
You can probably already guess my
view; join the fight to help keep Olympic wrestling alive!
#saveolympicwrestling
#savewrestling2020
Xoxo,
No comments:
Post a Comment