(PDF). - NCAA Wrestling Officiating

WR-64
Rule 6 / Injuries and Timeouts
and the open wound covered with a dressing sturdy enough to withstand the
demands of activity before the student-athlete may continue participation in
practice or competition.
Determining the number and length of timeouts allowed for bleeding is
left to the discretion of the referee. If bleeding becomes excessive or causes
an inordinate amount of timeouts, the referee, in consultation with a certified
athletic trainer or physician, shall have the authority to default the match.
Blood on a uniform does not necessarily require a uniform change; however,
in the rare case when a wrestler’s uniform becomes saturated with blood, that
wrestler shall be directed to change into another official uniform. Saturated is
defined as soaked with moisture or drenched. If blood has penetrated through
a garment to the skin or can be transferred to the other wrestler or referee,
the garment is saturated. The same saturation criteria should be applied to a
wrestler’s personal equipment (headgear, knee brace, etc.) If another official
uniform is not available, the match shall be defaulted, with the other wrestler
declared the winner.
Blood on the mat or surrounding area shall be cleaned and disinfected using
appropriate procedures and standard precautions before the match resumes.
6.1.5 Referee Timeout. When a contestant returns to the center of the mat ready to
wrestle after an injury timeout or recovery timeout and the referee questions
the contestant’s ability to continue, the referee may call a referee’s timeout for
medical consultation. The referee’s timeout occurs only after the contestant’s
injury or recovery time has expired. The medical personnel may examine, but
not treat, the contestant during this time. (See Appendix B.)
6.1.6 Resumption of Wrestling. If, at the expiration of the timeout, the contestant
is able to continue wrestling, the match shall be resumed as if the contestant
had gone out of bounds.
6.1.7 Defaulting the Match. The coach has the prerogative to default (stop) a
match in progress, or during a timeout, injury timeout or recovery timeout,
by walking onto the edge of the wrestling area in an orderly manner to notify
the referee. The contestant may terminate the match by stating clearly and
verbally to the referee the intent to default. It is understood by the coach,
contestant and referee that either of these procedures terminates the match in
progress.
6.1.8 Displacement of Contact Lens. Time used to recover or replace a dislodged
or lost contact lens may be charged against a contestant’s 1½ minutes of injury
time and count as an injury timeout, if the referee determines that this disrupts
the flow of the match.
6.2 Match Injury
If a contestant is rendered unconscious or shows signs of a concussion or spinal
injury, that wrestler shall not be permitted to continue in the match or return to
competition without approval of the team physician or the team physician’s designee
according to each institution’s Concussion Management Plan. Student-athletes
diagnosed with a concussion shall not return to activity (or competition) for the
remainder of that day. (See Appendix B for detailed information on concussions.)
If an injured contestant is unable to continue wrestling, the match shall be
awarded in accordance with Rules 6.3 and 6.4.