January 7, 2008
Certification example: With the deadline for certification now less than a week away, it is appropriate to address a couple of questions re: application of certification that sometimes arise. Over the year’s I’ve found that the use of examples is sometimes the easiest way to clarify the KSHSAA policy on this.

Example 1: Wrestler A weighs 134.9 pounds during a regularly scheduled school team competition weigh-in. At the weigh-in he passes a hydration assessment. He uses this as his certification weigh-in for 135#. At a subsequent regularly scheduled school team competition weigh-in, he weighs in at 139.7 and will be wrestling in the 140# weigh-class for that competition. Has the wrestler broken his 135# certification? Answer: No, since he only wrestled up one weight class above 135# class, he has not broken his original certification. Question: Can he use the hydration assessment when he weighed-in at 134.9 as meeting the hydration assessment for the later weigh-in at 139.7 so that he can be certified at 140#. Answer: Since the major concern with respect to hydration and the rationale for having hydration assessment for wrestlers is that wrestlers do not deplete/dehydrate themselves in order to reach a minimum weight, if in this case the wrestler wanted to certify at 140# and since he was hydrated at a weigh-in for a lower weight, the wrestle could use the 139.7 weight weigh-in as now his certified weight.

Example 2: Same wrestler as in Example 1. After certifying at 135# class based on competition weigh-in at 134.9 and passing a hydration assessment at that weigh-in, opts to compete in the 145# weight class in a competition. Must he now “recertify” for the 135# class? Answer: Yes – when the wrestler competed in a weight class that is more than one weight class above his certified weight class, then they will have to “recertify” if the want to go back to their 135# (minimum weight class). By going up two weight classes over the initial certified weight class, they have voided that initial certification weigh-in and weight class. They would have to participate in a second regularly schedule school team competition weigh-in BEFORE the certification date (January 12, 2008) and pass a hydration assessment at that weigh-in, in order to be able to recertify for the 135# weight class. In addition, the wrestler must have a minimum of ½ of his total school team competition weigh-in’s (not including the regional competition weigh-in) at the 135# weight class in order to be eligible for the 135# class at the regional competition.

Example 3: Wrestler A certifies at 145# and has wrestled in that weight class all season. For the regional meet the coach and the athlete determine that his best chance at placing in the regional and advancing to state is for him to wrestle in the 160# weight class. Can he do this and what must he weigh in order to do this? Answer: Yes he can do this and the fact that he is now NOT going to wrestle in his minimum (certified) weight class during the state tournament series (i.e., regional and state meet) means that he does not have to have a specific number of weigh-ins at the 160# class. HOWEVER, in order to wrestle at the 145# weight class his minimum weight at the time he weighs in for the regional MUST be something over 137# - which by his stripped weight at the regional weigh-in qualifies him for the 140# or 145#. It is wise to note that there are still some people that forget the NFHS rule requires that in order to compete in a class a wrestler must be eligible for that weight class based on the stripped weight of the wrestler. I’ve been present for regional weigh-in’s where athletes had to go eat and drink during the weigh-in in order to be eligible for a weight-class. Their stripped weight initially did not qualify them for the weight class they were entered into! Their coaches just assumed that they would be eligible regardless of their stripped weight because they were wrestling in a weight class that was above their certification weight – an erroneous assumption.