Weight Allowances

[FHSFAN1]

I am having a difficult time understanding the reasoning behing the 2 pound weight allowance. It seems strange to me that a wrestler only needs to make scratch weight once during the season before regionals. In January after making scratch weight, the wrestler gets a 2 pound allowance. Why not just add 2 pounds to each weight class and forget the allowance? I don't see it as a health issue as the state already determined the wrestler's minimum 'safe' weight. My belief is that teams with full line-ups will have their wrestlers at scratch weight early in the year for as many matches as possible. If its safe for the majority of the season, why not the entire season? The co-incidence of the body attempting to grow at this particular time of year doesn't seem that probable to me.

[Willy]

Much of what you say makes sense. As far as I am concerned, I wish they went back to the old way when a wrestler had to have half his weigh-ins at the weight he was going at regionals. I would love to know how many wrestlers wrestle only one regular season match at the lower weight and then wrestles the entire state series at the lower weight. Back to your original inquiry. A science friend of mine told me that the body tends to grow, height-wise, in January. I don't know if this is an old wive's tale but with added height comes added weight. I always told my sons that they could run off weight but they can't cut height. So whether this height/weight theory is true or not remains to be seen.

Willy