Wrestling Glossary

Whether you are a new assistant, a parent trying to follow a dual, or a coach checking what a button in the Emulator does, start here.

Dual meet

A team competition between two schools where one wrestler from each team wrestles at each weight class. Each bout earns team points for the winner, and the team with more points wins.

Weight class

A weight range a wrestler is certified to compete in. Pennsylvania uses 13 classes and New Jersey uses 14. See PA vs NJ Weight Classes.

Lineup

The list of which wrestler competes at each weight in a given dual.

Weigh-ins

The official check before competition that each wrestler makes his weight class. A wrestler who does not make weight cannot wrestle at that class.

Missed weight

When a wrestler weighs in over his class limit. It is the most common reason a lineup changes on the morning of a dual.

Bumping

Moving a wrestler up (or down) a weight class for a dual, usually to get a better matchup or fill an open spot. In the Emulator, Bump Up and Bump Down move one class at a time and leave the old weight open. Always subject to your state's weight rules.

Decision

A win on points by 1 to 7. Worth 3 team points.

Major decision

A win on points by 8 to 14. Worth 4 team points.

Technical fall (tech fall)

A win by building a 15 point lead, which ends the bout. Worth 5 team points.

Fall (pin)

A win by holding the opponent's shoulders to the mat for the required count. Ends the bout immediately. Worth 6 team points.

Forfeit

When a team has no wrestler at a weight. The other team receives 6 points. In the Emulator, the Forfeit button marks that side as open.

Default

A win when the opponent cannot continue, often due to injury. Worth 6 team points.

Disqualification

A win when the opponent is removed for rule violations. Worth 6 team points.

Bonus points

Any team points above the 3 for a decision: majors, tech falls, pins, and forfeits. Bonus points decide most close duals.

Starting weight

The weight class that wrestles first in a dual. The order runs up from there and wraps around.

Odd / Even

The two sides set by the coin toss. In the Emulator, the ODD team sends out first on odd numbered matches and the EVEN team sends out first on even numbered matches. See Coin Toss and Match Order.

Sends out / Reacts

The team that sends out first commits its wrestler before seeing the opponent's choice. The team that reacts sees it first and can adjust.

DP: District placer

A wrestler who placed at the district tournament. Multiplies his strength score by 1.45 in the Emulator.

RP: Regional placer

A wrestler who placed at the regional tournament. Multiplier of 1.65.

SP: State placer

A wrestler who placed at the state tournament. Multiplier of 1.90.

SC: State champion

A state tournament champion. Multiplier of 2.15, the highest in the Emulator. Turning on SC also turns on SP.

Boom or Bust

An Emulator flag for a wrestler whose bouts usually end in a pin one way or the other. Bouts involving him are projected as pins instead of decisions.

Toss-up

An Emulator projection for a bout too close to call, within 5 points of an even split. Each team is credited 1.5 points so the total is not tilted.

Strength score

The Emulator's rating for a wrestler, built from wins, win percentage, matches wrestled, and placements. See How the Scoring Works.

Coach Assessment

The Winner and Result boxes on every bout card in the Emulator. Set them when you know something the numbers do not. The team score updates immediately, and the original model score stays visible for comparison.

Tendencies

How a wrestler's wins and losses ended: by fall, tech fall, major, or decision. Entered in the Tendencies box under each wrestler. The Emulator uses them to adjust the projected result. See How the Scoring Works.

Key Matchup

An Emulator label for a close bout that could flip, or nearly flip, the dual if it went the other way.

Roster vs lineup

In the Emulator, the roster is every wrestler a team might use. The lineup is who is wrestling at each weight today. Moving or bumping a wrestler changes the lineup, never his roster information.

Kept result

A saved snapshot of a projection in the Emulator. Keep one, try a different lineup, and compare the two side by side.

TrackWrestling

A widely used website for wrestling results and stats. The Emulator can import roster stat rows copied from a team page. The Emulator is not affiliated with TrackWrestling.