Freestyle Pairing

Here are some questions you may have asked at a freestyle wrestling tournament, along with the typical answers.

Q: How many more matches do I have?
A: I don't know.

Q: Who's my opponent in the next round?
A: I can't tell yet.

Q: I lost my first match but won my second match. Can I still get second place?
A: Yes.

Q: I lost two matches. Am I still in the tournament?
A: (After a long pause) Possibly.

Have you ever wondered why you get such strange answers to such simple questions?

Then wonder no more! These pages will give you an introduction to the way that we do pairing, which is just a fancy word for "figuring out who wrestles whom."

Here are the main topics:

• The Pairing Chart
• Names and Numbers
• The Pairing Rule
  • The First Round
  • The Second Round
• Entering Scores
  • The First Round
  • The Second Round
• Pairing Round Three
  • Oh, no!
  • Oh, no problem!
• Scoring Round Three
• Round Robin
• Final Placing

Notes:

Phrases that begin with capital letters should be read as if they are coming from a big Voice In The Sky. This is a style that appeals to the author, who intends to massively overuse it.

This introduction deliberately avoids some of the more difficult aspects of pairing. There are some things that You Really Don't Want To Know. In the process, we will not be going exactly according to the USA Wrestling International Rule Book. Read the book if you want all of the details.

Back to web-based pairing index