Amateur Wrestling - Scoring

Scoring

Greco-Roman and freestyle differ in what holds are permitted; in Greco-Roman, the wrestlers are permitted to hold and attack only above the waist. In both Greco-Roman and freestyle, points can be scored in the following ways:

• Takedown: A wrestler gaining control over his opponent from a neutral position.
• Reversal: A wrestler gaining control over his opponent from a defensive position.
• Exposure or the Danger Position: A wrestler exposing his opponent's back to the mat, also awarded if one's back is to the mat but the wrestler is not pinned.
• Penalty: Various infractions (e.g. striking the opponent, acting with brutality or intent to injure, using illegal holds, etc.). (Under the 2004–2005 changes to the international styles, a wrestler whose opponent takes an injury time-out receives one point unless the injured wrestler is bleeding.) Any wrestler stepping out of bounds while standing in the neutral position during a match is penalized by giving his opponent a point.