Kennedy Wrestling | John F. Kennedy High School (La Palma) Wrestling Program

What does a new wrestler need to get started?

A team singlet and warm-ups are provided during the season matches. The wrestler needs to obtain the following mandatory items:

- Wrestling shoes
- Wrestling head gear

You can usually get wrestling shoes and head gear locally. You can also do a web search for wrestling shoes and find many on-line sources for wrestling equipment. A starter pair of shoes should be about $50-$60. Head gear usually starts around $20.

The wrestler should also have a good pair of outdoor running shoes, a hooded sweatshirt and sweat pants for cold mornings and to keep your body warm while you get ready for a match. Since the wrestlers will be working out every day, it is practical to have extra sets of workout clothes and sweats.

What are the basic rules and scoring of Folkstyle wrestling?

The goal of wrestling is to force your opponent onto his back and pin your opponent. A pin, also called a fall, occurs when any part of both shoulders or both shoulder blades (scapula) of either wrestler are in contact with the mat for two (2) continuous seconds. A pin ends the match immediately. If neither wrestlers is pinned, the winner is the wrestler with the most points at the end of the match.

There are five ways to score points in a Folkstyle wrestling match: Takedown, Escape, Reversal, Near-Fall, and Penalty.

How does the team score points during league matches?

In league matches the team score is made up of the combined scores of the matches of 14 individual weight classes. Team points are awarded for the outcome of an individual match as follows:

A match won by from 1 to 7 points is a win by decision - 3 team points.
A match won by from 8 to 14 points is a major decision - 4 team points.
A match won by 15 or more points is called a technical fall - 5 team points.
A match won by pin is called a fall - 6 team points.
Missing a wrestler at one or more weight classes is a forfeit at each weight - 6 team points per forfeit.

A match won by more than a decision is referred to as "bonus" points for a team. Bonus points can greatly factor in the outcome of a team dual, where both teams win the the same number of individual matches. The team that wins their matches by a higher score comes out the winner of the team competition due to earned bonus points.

How many weight classes are there in wrestling?

There are 14 weight classes in high school wrestling: 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220, 285 lbs.

These weights represent the maximum weight a wrestler can weigh.  Before each individual tournament or team dual match each wrestler must be weigh in.

What is Ringworm?

Ringworm is a contagious fungus infection of the skin. Despite its name, it has nothing to do with worms. The name comes from the characteristic red ring that can appear on an infected person's skin. Ringworm is also called Tinea. Ringworm is caused by direct skin-to-skin contact with an infected person. Ringworm can be treated with fungus-killing medicine.