Growth Allowance

During the Wisconsin high school wrestling season, athletes are given a 2-pound weight allowance after Christmas. It’s a magnificent gift to athletes managing their weight. As a result, the weight class listed is effectively plus two pounds. For example, the 106 pound weight class becomes 108 pounds (athletes must weigh 108 pounds or less – 108.1 pounds is overweight). On February 1st, an additional pound is given (109) and for the teams that are fortunate enough to compete at the Team State tournament, they receive an additional pound on March 1st (110).

The WIAA calls this additional weight a “growth allowance.” The logic behind the decision for the extra weight is to promote healthy weight management, understanding teenage athletes continue to grow and mature throughout the season despite the accountability of wrestling at a specific and designated weight class. It sounds good in theory. In practice, it has become is an enticement to go down a weight class at the end of the season. If a wrestler can successfully make “scratch” weight at 113 pounds at the beginning of the season when his fitness level is not best, it becomes easy for him (or his coaches or parents) to justify making 109 pounds at the end of the season when he’s in better shape. Additionally, weigh-ins are further apart during tournament time because there are no events on weeknights (except Team Sectionals), so dropping a weight class is basically expected without even considering if it’s actually beneficial.

As athletes approach the end of the season and begin their “ascent” to their performance peak, the overall well-being of their body and mind are dependent upon their workload becoming lighter. Unfortunately, “dropping” a weight class has the potential to undermine that process by requiring an athlete to add volume to their workouts. This is counter-productive to the science of peak performance training. I trust that many coaches account for this dynamic, however, I see far too many athletes lose intensity as they lose more weight. Under-intensity often is the result of poor preparation (i.e., shabby weight control habits, nutrition, strength, etc.), lack of motivation (focus becomes making weight instead of wrestling) and fatigue (not reaping the benefits of tapering). It’s not always a mental toughness issue and the consequences can cause negative overall experiences in the sport.

Wrestling is marked by a few significant “black eyes.” Weight cutting is one of them. Individuals who admit they don’t understand wrestling in the slightest are often quick to associate the sport with stories about cutting weight. Wrestlers also grow to dislike the sport that has been so good to them because of their passionate hatred towards cutting weight. Shouldn’t it be the wrestling team, not the weight cutting team? This leads to an entirely separate topic; however, the “growth allowance” contributes to that conversation, too.

My position is that a “growth allowance” should be taken at its word and allow for growth instead of a license to cut more weight. I talked to an athlete today and he asked me what my opinion was on him dropping a weight class. My response was extremely vague because, in my experience, that is a loaded question. I asked him what HE wanted to do. He said that it’s not very hard making his current weight and he doesn’t have to cut much weight right now. I replayed his answer in my head over and over and find it strange that our wrestling culture has pressured him into believing that making weight should be “hard” and that he should be cutting more weight. His statement was laced with red flags and, truth be told, had very little to do WRESTLING.

Doing my own amateur research on this topic, I’ve actually found that “dropping” a weight class at the end of the season is NOT commonly beneficial when considering only post season outcomes. An overwhelming majority of athletes who win the high school state tournament compete at their weight class throughout the season. These statistics are easy to discover on Trackwrestling. Seldom does a wrestler who goes down a weight class for the Regional Tournament wrestle to his potential. In fact, many of them underperform. Don’t believe me? This February, take a look for yourself and believe what you see instead of holding on firmly to the status quo.