Andy Hrovat Weighs In On Criteria
Andy Hrovat Weighs In On Criteria
Andy Hrovat Weighs In On Criteria
Christian Pyles
In hopes of continuing the conversation about the use of criteria in freestyle wrestling, we have reached out to a number of coaches in hopes of getting their perspective and expertise on this situation.
Andy Hrovat, a 2008 Olympian and current Coach at the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club offered his thoughts and solutions:
"As an advocate of advancing our sport I believe the fans deserve OT. Watching a dual meet and watching a tournament are two different ideas and since 99% of international wrestling is done at tournaments then we should be using OT. Fans can't follow multiple matches at the same time and understand who is winning on more than one mat. Every other sport in the world that uses scoring to determine the outcome uses OT.
My overtime period would be set at 3 min to mirror the other periods. 3 min is long enough for a scoring action to take place but not too short where people can do nothing and expect to win. I would also compromise and allow criteria to be used if no score occurs after the 3 min of OT are finished. This can be signaled to the fans once regulation ends. Think shoot out in NHL after OT has already been played. It gives an end to the match but also allows the athletes to win the match outright.
As far as the athletes are concerned FILA tells them that they already had plenty of time to win the match in regulation. This is a terrible way to treat the athletes and in no way does it allow an athlete to make a mistake and come back. The points that are now awarded have double value. If someone throws me twice for 4pts and I get four 2pt take downs, what is better for the fans? Do fans only want to see 2 big throws or would they like to see 4 takedowns? The throw and the takedown are already rewarded with different point totals based on difficulty, it doesn't mean that they should win the match because of the difficulty. The last time I checked 8 pts is equal to 8 pts it doesn't matter where they came from since they were already rewarded based on difficulty.
I will challenge FILA for as long as I am in the sport of wrestling when it comes to rules of the sport and where the sport is going in terms of vision. I have heard from FILA for years in regard to rule changes, their go answer when talking rules is to say that the IOC is making them do it. I personally have a hard time believing the IOC has ever told FILA they had to do something and if they do tell FILA how to run their business then I still blame FILA for not having the power or knowledge to stand up to the IOC with data to prove why they make the decisions they do. Everything in this world is possible and when FILA says it is not possible, then we all should be looking to make a change in leadership. With an attitude of "can't can't can't" they are absolutely correct in proving they are not capable of growing the sport before it even has a chance to grow."
Christian Pyles
In hopes of continuing the conversation about the use of criteria in freestyle wrestling, we have reached out to a number of coaches in hopes of getting their perspective and expertise on this situation.
Andy Hrovat, a 2008 Olympian and current Coach at the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club offered his thoughts and solutions:
"As an advocate of advancing our sport I believe the fans deserve OT. Watching a dual meet and watching a tournament are two different ideas and since 99% of international wrestling is done at tournaments then we should be using OT. Fans can't follow multiple matches at the same time and understand who is winning on more than one mat. Every other sport in the world that uses scoring to determine the outcome uses OT.
My overtime period would be set at 3 min to mirror the other periods. 3 min is long enough for a scoring action to take place but not too short where people can do nothing and expect to win. I would also compromise and allow criteria to be used if no score occurs after the 3 min of OT are finished. This can be signaled to the fans once regulation ends. Think shoot out in NHL after OT has already been played. It gives an end to the match but also allows the athletes to win the match outright.
As far as the athletes are concerned FILA tells them that they already had plenty of time to win the match in regulation. This is a terrible way to treat the athletes and in no way does it allow an athlete to make a mistake and come back. The points that are now awarded have double value. If someone throws me twice for 4pts and I get four 2pt take downs, what is better for the fans? Do fans only want to see 2 big throws or would they like to see 4 takedowns? The throw and the takedown are already rewarded with different point totals based on difficulty, it doesn't mean that they should win the match because of the difficulty. The last time I checked 8 pts is equal to 8 pts it doesn't matter where they came from since they were already rewarded based on difficulty.
I will challenge FILA for as long as I am in the sport of wrestling when it comes to rules of the sport and where the sport is going in terms of vision. I have heard from FILA for years in regard to rule changes, their go answer when talking rules is to say that the IOC is making them do it. I personally have a hard time believing the IOC has ever told FILA they had to do something and if they do tell FILA how to run their business then I still blame FILA for not having the power or knowledge to stand up to the IOC with data to prove why they make the decisions they do. Everything in this world is possible and when FILA says it is not possible, then we all should be looking to make a change in leadership. With an attitude of "can't can't can't" they are absolutely correct in proving they are not capable of growing the sport before it even has a chance to grow."
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