INTERNATIONAL

BEACH WRESTLING REGULATIONS

Updated in January 2015/Jdr

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION ONE – GENERAL RULES....................................................................... 3

ARTICLE 1 – MISSION STATEMENT AND PHILOSOPHY ........................................................ 3
ARTICLE 2 – OBJECTIVES .................................................................................. 3
ARTICLE 3 – APPLICATION OF THE RULES AND UNITED WORLD WRESTLING LICENCE ........................ 3
SECTION TWO – MATERIAL STRUCTURE .............................................................. 4
ARTICLE 4 – AGE AND WEIGHT DIVISIONS FOR MEN AND WOMEN ........................................... 4
ARTICLE 5 – WRESTLERS’ UNIFORMS AND APPEARANCE .................................................... 4
ARTICLE 6 – COMPETITION AREA ........................................................................... 5
SECTION THREE – COMPETITION PROCEDURE ....................................................... 5
ARTICLE 7 – COMPETITION SYSTEM ........................................................................ 5
ARTICLE 8 – WEIGH-IN AND MEDICAL EXAMINATION ........................................................ 6
ARTICLE 9 – DRAWING OF LOTS ............................................................................ 6
SECTION FOUR – THE MATCH .......................................................................... 6
ARTICLE 10 – DURATION AND BASIC RULE ................................................................. 6
ARTICLE 11 – CALL AND START OF THE MATCHES .......................................................... 6
ARTICLE 12 – START AND RESTART POSITION .............................................................. 7
ARTICLE 13 – SCORING FOR ACTIONS AND HOLDS DURING THE BOUT ....................................... 7
ARTICLE 14 – INJURY AND BLOOD TIME .................................................................... 7
ARTICLE 15 – INTERRUPTIONS OF THE MATCH ............................................................. 7
ARTICLE 16 – END OF THE MATCH ......................................................................... 7
ARTICLE 17 – TYPE OF VICTORIES ......................................................................... 8
SECTION FIVE – TECHNICAL INFRACTIONS ........................................................... 8
ARTICLE 18 – ILLEGAL HOLDS AND ACTIONS ............................................................... 8
SECTION SIX – REFEREEING BODY ..................................................................... 8
ARTICLE 19 – COMPOSITION ............................................................................... 8
ARTICLE 20 – UNIFORM .................................................................................... 8
ARTICLE 21 – GENERAL DUTIES ............................................................................ 9
ARTICLE 22 – THE CENTRAL REFEREE...................................................................... 9
ARTICLE 23 – THE TECHNICAL SECRETARY ................................................................. 9
SECTION SEVEN – MEDICAL SERVICES ................................................................. 9
ARTICLE 24 – ANTI-DOPING AND SANITARY CONDITIONS ................................................. 10
FINAL PROVISIONS ..................................................................................... 10

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SECTION ONE – GENERAL RULES

Article 1 – Mission statement and philosophy

In accordance with its Constitution, United World Wrestling recognises Beach Wrestling as an
integrant part of Wrestling in all her styles, promotional and educational discipline practised around
the world in view of promoting their cultural and social values and protecting this world heritage
upon which all modern wrestling styles are based.

The Beach Wrestling Commission was created by United World Wrestling to contribute to the
structuring and promotion of Beach Wrestling in order to include the sport in all official multi-sport
events.

Countless variations of traditional wrestling practiced on sand (referred to as “beach wrestling”) can
be identified and they should all receive equal attention from the international community.
However, common grounds had to be found in order to allow sportsmen from the different regions
and countries to compete in official championships and games. The present rules offer a unified
competition system that encompasses all major trends of beach wrestling and make the sport easy to
understand by the spectators and media and easy to judge by the referees.

Article 2 – Objectives

The international rules set forth in the present document constitute the framework within which
beach wrestling is conducted and promoted and have as their specific objectives to:

Establish the competition system, classification, technical points, penalties, eliminations,

etc.
Define and specify the practical and technical conditions under which a match is to take
place.
Determine the value to be assigned to actions and holds.
List the situations and prohibitions.
Determine the technical duties of the refereeing body.

Article 3 – Application of the Rules and United World Wrestling Licence

The rules defined in the present document shall be in effect for all United World Wrestling
sanctioned events in order to ensure optimal safety of the athletes and a healthy growth of the
discipline.

The United World Wrestling licence is mandatory for every international beach wrestling competition
with more than two participating countries. Every international competition must be reported to
United World Wrestling and added to its official calendar. The United World Wrestling insurance will
only apply to competitions that appear in the calendar.

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SECTION TWO – MATERIAL STRUCTURE

Article 4 – Age and Weight Divisions for Men and Women

All contestants shall be able to provide a passport proving their age and nationality. Any athlete
found competing in an age group lower than his/her designated age category shall be automatically
disqualified from the immediate competition.

A National Wrestling Federation can enter a maximum of 3 athletes per weight category.

Note: If several age divisions are on the program of a United World Wrestling sanctioned event, athletes may
only compete in one age group.

Cadets (16-17 years old*) Juniors (18-20 years old**)

Men: 60, 70, +70 kg Men: 60, 70, 80, +80 kg

Women: 50, +50 kg Women: 50, 60, +60 kg

Seniors (20 and older***)

Men: 70, 80, 90, +90 kg

Women: 60, 70, +70 kg

*Cadets (from 15 with medical and parental certificate)

**Juniors (from 17 with medical and parental certificate)
***Seniors (from 18 with medical certificate)

Article 5 – Wrestlers’ Uniforms and Appearance

For all United World Wrestling sanctioned events, competition uniforms must comply with the
following paragraph.

Wrestlers shall appear on the edge of the circle wearing tight-fitting bathing suits or board shorts.
Women’s’ competitors may wear two-piece bathing suits. The first wrestler called shall put on a red
ankle band and the second wrestler called a blue ankle band.

Country’s abbreviation

For all Continental and World Championships, the wrestlers shall wear the abbreviation of their
country’s name on their competition shorts or bathing suits.

Advertising on clothing

Wrestlers may wear sponsors’ names or symbols on their competition uniforms as long as they don’t
interfere with the identification of the uniforms’ colour and country’s abbreviation.

Shoes

No shoes are allowed in any of the beach wrestling styles and the bout must be bare foot.

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Appearance and hygiene

Wrestlers are prohibited from wearing bandages on the wrists, arms or ankles except in the case of
injury or on doctor’s orders. Wrestlers are prohibited from wearing any object that might cause
injury to an opponent such as necklaces, bracelets, anklets, toe rings, finger rings, piercing of any
kind, prosthesis, etc. Wrestlers’ fingers and toenails shall be neatly trimmed with no sharp edges.
Long-haired athletes must attached them or have a pony tail. Wrestlers shall be well groomed and
their hair and skin shall be free of any greasy, oily or sticky substance.

Wrestlers may not arrive perspiring for the beginning of the match. The referee may require a
wrestler to towel off at any time during the match.

At weigh-in, a United World Wrestling official shall check that all competitors satisfy the
requirements of this article. The athletes must be warned that if their appearance or uniform are not
compliant, they will not be allowed to enter the competition. The wrestlers who enter the
competition area with an appearance that does not conform to the present regulations will be given
2 minutes to change it; otherwise they will lose the match by forfeit.

Article 6 – Competition Area

All United World Wrestling sanctioned events take place in a 7-meter circle designed by a 10-
centimeter red ribbon that must contain no metal parts. It must be filled with a 30-centimeter layer
of fine sand free from any stones, shells, or other objects.

SECTION THREE – COMPETITION PROCEDURE

Article 7 – Competition System

If less than 6 wrestlers are entered in a weight category, the competition system follows “Nordic
system” with each competitor fighting each competitor.

If between 6 and 10 wrestlers are entered in a weight category, a competition system with two
groups will be organized. In each group, all competitor will fight with each competitor and as the
“Nordic system”, the wrestlers will be ranked according the following criteria:

Most victories
Head to head (in case of a ranking tie between 2 wrestlers)
Most points scored in the whole competition
Fewest points given in the whole competition
The lowest number pulled during the draw

In the competition system with two groups, the two first from each group will fight for the 1st and 2nd
place. The two second from each group will therefore fight for the 3rd and 4th place. If the organizer
wants to organize more final matches, the process will be done like that:

Final for the places 9 and 10

Final for the places 7 and 8
Final for the places 5 and 6
Final for the places 3 and 4
Final for the places 1 and 2

This special request must be approved by United World Wrestling.

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If more than 10 wrestlers are entered in a weight category, the competition system will be the direct
elimination with repechage (the same used by United World Wrestling for the Olympic Wrestling
competitions). From the 7th place, the wrestlers are ranked according to the following criteria:

Most victories
Head to head (in case of a ranking tie between 2 wrestlers)
Most points scored in the whole competition
Fewest points given in the whole competition
The lowest number pulled during the draw

Article 8 – Weigh-In and Medical examination

Weigh-in should be conducted the same day (two hours before the competition) and last 30 minutes.
Athletes shall present their United World Wrestling licence and accreditation to the appointed
referees in charge of the weigh-in. Athletes shall wear their competition uniform (shorts or
underwear) and be allowed to check their weight on the scales as many times as they wish within the
official weigh-in time frame. No weight tolerance shall be granted at the United World Wrestling
sanctioned events.

The Medical Examination will be organized before the weigh-in and last one hour.

Note: No weigh-in not either license is required for promotional competitions. The participants are divided
according to their corpulence in order to quickly obtain an ideal divisible number.

Article 9 – Drawing of Lots

After the athletes have made weight and the weigh-in official has marked their weight on the weigh-
in list, they shall draw a lot number which will be used to determine their position in the bracket.
The weigh-in officials shall also enter the lot number onto the weigh-in list.

SECTION FOUR – THE MATCH

Article 10 – Duration and Basic Rule

The match consists in 1 period of 3 minutes for all age categories.

Beach wrestling is only practiced in standing position. The use of the legs is allowed in all actions.

Article 11 – Call and Start of the Matches

Both wrestlers’ names shall be called in a loud clear voice. Wrestlers shall be called 3 times with at
least a 30-second time interval between each call. If after the third call a wrestler has not checked
in at the circle, he/she shall be disqualified and default the match.

When their name has been called, the wrestlers shall stand in the corner corresponding to their
assigned color and wait for the central referee to call them to his/her side. The central referee shall
inspect their competition uniform. The central referee shall also inspect the wrestlers to make sure
that their skin is not covered with any greasy or sticky substance, or with perspiration. After the
central referee has completed his/her inspection, the two wrestlers shake hands and begin the match
as the referee’s whistle.

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Article 12 – Start and Restart Position

Neutral position occurs at the beginning of the regular period and after all match interruptions. Both
wrestlers stand opposite one another in the centre of the circle and wait for the referee’s whistle to
start wrestling.

Article 13 – Scoring for Actions and Holds during the bout

1 point is the awarded to:

the wrestler who manages to bring any of his opponent’s body part to the ground, except the
hands.
the wrestler who manages to bring any of his opponent’s body part out of the competition
area.
the wrestler whose opponent has received a caution for illegal action.
Note: the attacker can put a knee (or any other body part) to the ground when executing an action if this
action finished by the opponent in the ground.

2 points are awarded to:

the wrestler who manages to expose his opponent’s back to the ground during a takedown.

Article 14 – Injury and Blood Time

The referee must stop the match and call for injury time if a wrestler is temporarily injured due to
an incidental blow (i.e. eye poke, head collision, etc). Injury/blood time per match cannot exceed 2
minutes per athlete otherwise the athlete is disqualified.

In the event of a wrestler bleeding, the referee shall stop the match and make the competition
doctor intervene. The bleeding wrestler must get out of the competition area in order to be treated.
Proper cleaning utensils and disinfectant solutions must be readily available at the doctor table. It is
the competition doctor duty to determine whether the bleeding and spread of blood have been
effectively stopped and whether or not the athlete may continue competition. In the case of a
bloodied or torn garment that must be replaced, all athletes must have a back up uniform available
by their corner.

Article 15 – Interruptions of the Match

If for any reason the match must be interrupted (referees’ consultation, etc.), the two wrestlers shall
stand in the centre of the circle facing the referees’ table, without talking to anyone or taking
liquids, and wait for the referee to call them back and resume the match.

Article 16 – End of the Match

The first athlete to 3 points wins the match. If they is a tie at the end of the match, the following
criteria will be used to declare the winner:

The highest value of holds

Last point scored
Weigh of the athletes*
The lowest number pulled during the draw
*The two opponents will be weighed and the lighter (lightweight) one will be declared as the winner of the
match.

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Article 17 – Type of Victories

Victory: 1 point
Defeat: 0 point

SECTION FIVE – TECHNICAL INFRACTIONS

Article 18 – Illegal Holds and Actions

All offenses fall under the central referee’s authority. If a wrestler violates the United World
Wrestling Code of Ethics in a blatant and unsportsmanlike manner, the central referee (with the
competition responsible agreement) shall disqualify him/her from the match or from the
competition.

Cautions for illegal actions award 1 point to the opponent up to a total of 3 points during the same
match, which results in the disqualification of the wrestler at fault.

Illegal actions include:

Holds causing dislocations

Neck cranks
Biting, punching, kicking, head butts, malicious cross faces
Eye, ear, or nose gouging, fish hooking
Pulling of hair, nose, ears, or attacking the groin
Standing throws onto the head or neck (spikes)
Coating the skin with any kind of greasy or slippery substance
Stopping the match or leave the competition area for any reason
Pretense of injury

SECTION SIX – REFEREEING BODY

Article 19 – Composition

All matches shall be refereed by a central referee and a technical secretary.

In major competitions, the members of the refereeing body shall in no case be of the same
nationality or officiate in matches involving compatriot wrestlers.

Article 20 – Uniform

The central referees and the technical secretary shall wear white shorts and a white United World
Wrestling Referee’s polo. In addition, they shall wear a whistle around their neck and a green/red
band on their left wrist and a blue band on their right wrist.

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Article 21 – General Duties

The refereeing body shall perform all the duties set forth in these Regulations and in any special
provision that might be established for the organization of a particular competition. The central
referee is required to use the basic United World Wrestling terminology and signals appropriate to
their respective roles when conducting the matches. The central referee’s main duty consists in
starting and interrupting the match, awarding the points, and imposing the penalties in order to
determine the legitimate winner and loser.

At the end of the match the central referee and the technical secretary must sign the score sheet.

Article 22 – The Central Referee

The central referee is responsible for the orderly conduct of the match that he shall direct according
to the official United World Wrestling rules. He shall command the respect of the contestants and
exercise full authority over them so that they immediately obey his orders and instructions. Similarly,
he shall conduct the match without tolerating any irregular and outside interventions. After the
execution of an action, he shall indicate the point by raising the hand corresponding to the color of
the wrestler who scored.

The central referee’s decisions prevail, but in case of doubt he may consult the technical secretary.
In case no agreement can be reached, the Head Referee in charge of the competition will have the
final say.

The central referee must stop the bout and replace the wrestler in the centre of the circle if the
action finished to the ground or to announce the winner. The central referee must also take care
that the wrestlers stayed in the competition area until the results of the match is announce.

Article 23 – The technical secretary

The technical secretary shall follow the course of the match very closely without allowing himself to
be distracted in any way. Following each action and on the basis of the central referee’s indications,
he shall write the corresponding points on the score sheet.

Technical secretary’s specific duties:

Fill in the score sheet

Communicate with the central referee
Control the announce of the matches
Sign the score sheet

SECTION SEVEN – MEDICAL SERVICES

The organizers of United World Wrestling events are responsible for providing medical service. The
medical staff will be under the authority of a sport doctor in charge and will be responsible for
conducting all medical examinations as well as giving medical surveillance during the entire event.
During the competition, the medical staff shall be ready to intervene in the case of an accident or
injury and decide whether a wrestler is fit to continue the match.

The Head medical officer has full authority to stop a match at any time if he deems either wrestler
to be in danger. He may also stop a match if he feels a wrestler is medically unfit to continue. A
wrestler shall not leave the circle in the event of a serious injury. In such case, the referee shall
immediately stop the match and ask the Head medical officer to examine the wrestler on the spot.

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Article 24 – Anti-Doping and Sanitary conditions

All athletes participating in United World Wrestling sanctioned events agree to submit themselves to
the United World Wrestling Anti-Doping Regulations and to the World Anti-Doping Code.

FINAL PROVISIONS

The present Rules were approved by United World Wrestling and can be modified at any time if slight
improvements are deemed necessary.

In case of a dispute regarding their interpretation and application, it is specified that the French
version prevails.

The contestants in beach wrestling events agree not to bring a dispute to civil court. Every
disagreement will be settled by the Beach Wrestling Commission, the organ of appeal being the
United World Wrestling Executive Committee. If no settlement is established, the parties can bring
the case, at their own expense, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), located in Lausanne,
Switzerland.

Corsier-sur-Vevey, 15 January 2015/Jdr

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