1. Age requirements

  1. Participant age is as of December 31st of the year they are competing in.
Membership typeAge
TykeAges 7 and 8
NoviceAges 9 and 10
KidsAges 11 and 12
BantamAges 13 and 14
CadetAges 15 and 16
JuvenileAges 17 and 18
JuniorAges 19 and 20
SeniorAges 21 and older

2. Weight requirements

  1. Weight classes vary by event. Please see the UWW and WCL rules.
  2. Tyke to Kids
    1. The exact system of pooling (such as, round robin, bracket draw, etc.) should be determined based upon the level of competition. Novice and Kids Youth wrestling should use a round robin pool format with three to five wrestlers in an age/weight class. This assures wrestlers of a maximum number of bouts per tournament. Athletes should only compete in their own age group and should not compete in more than one age group at the same tournament.
    2. All OAWA events must use a weight verification system: Either a full weigh-in, or a ‘Red Dot’ weight verification system. Please see OAWA guidelines for how weight verification works. All wrestlers are expected to weigh-in before events.
    3. Important Note on Weight-Loss: The use of plastic bags, saunas or any form of artificial weight loss is strictly prohibited at the youth age divisions. The penalty for non-compliance for athletes is immediate elimination from the tournament without placement. Coaches who assist or promote this type of weight loss will be barred from the competition site for the remainder of the event. Such action by Coaches is a violation of the OAWA Code of Conduct and the Coach will be subject to Disciplinary action.
    4. Due to different maturation rates, boys should only wrestle boys and girls should only wrestle girls. The weight spread should be done on a graduated split. When setting up the weight classes after weigh-ins, wrestlers will be grouped according to weight with a maximum difference between the lightest in the class and the heaviest as follows:
      1. Up to 40 kg: 2 kg maximum difference between lightest and heaviest in the weight
      2. 40 kg up to 50 kg: 3 kg maximum difference between lightest and heaviest in the weight
      3. 50 kg up to 60 kg: 4 kg maximum difference between lightest and heaviest in the weight
      4. 60 kg up to 70 kg: 5 kg maximum difference between lightest and heaviest in the weight
      5. Over 80 kg: 10 kg maximum difference between lightest and heaviest in the weight

3. Skill/experience requirements

  1. This is not utilized at OAWA event. Participants are grouped by age.

4. Matching guidelines

  1. There are no matching guidelines except as outlined in the competition rules including age grouping.