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Dear Wrestling Parent/Guardian:
The following information describes the weight certification procedures that will be used to determine a safe minimum wrestling weight for Liberty High School. The CCPSS weight certification program is structured on regulations and guidelines established by the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS), the NFHS Medicine Advisory Committee, and the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA).
An essential component of the program is establishing a safe minimum weight class for wrestlers using hydration testing and body fat analysis. Briefly, the current weight, height, and level of body fat is determined for each wrestler, and calculations determine the wrestler's weight if he reduced to a 7% level of body fat (12% for females). The weight that corresponds to a 7% level of body fat is used to determine a safe minimum weight class. Regulations As proscribed by NFHS and MPSSAA regulations, Maryland public school wrestlers must have their minimum weight class certified prior to their first match. This involves two steps. First, each wrestler must have a hydration test and body fat analysis, which determine what the wrestler would weigh if he achieved a 7% level of body fat (12% for females) in a properly hydrated state. Second, a physician's signature is required to certify the wrestler's minimum weight class, based on the results of the body fat analysis. Wrestlers may not recertify to a lower weight class after their first match. Skin fold measuring will be used to asses body fat.
Importance of Proper Hydration To ensure validity and accuracy, an individual must be properly hydrated prior to the body fat analysis. Otherwise, the test will indicate a higher level of fat than actually exists. Briefly, if a body is not properly hydrated, the electric signal is artificially slowed, resulting in a false reading. Accordingly, the hydration level of each wrestler will be determined immediately prior to the body-fat analysis. A wrestler must "pass" the hydration test before undergoing the body fat analysis. A sample of the wrestler's urine is needed to conduct the test. It will be briefly examined exclusively for its level of hydration, and immediately discarded.
Nutrition Education
An extremely important component of the HCPSS and MPSSAA weight certification program is to provide nutrition information to wrestlers, parents, and coaches. Medical evidence supports that reducing weight to a 7% level of body fat (12% for females) is the minimum to which a high school athlete should aspire. However, the manner in which wrestlers reduce and maintain weight is a potential matter of concern. The nutrition information provided on the MPSSAA web site (www.mpssaa.org) is adopted from the California High School Athletic Association's nutrition education program. The information is specifically designed to provide wrestlers and parents with information on how wrestlers may attain and maintain an appropriate body fat level while maintaining maximum strength and energy. Wrestlers and parents are strongly encouraged to access this information on the MPSSAA web site (www.mpssaa.org).
As a final reminder, please remember that reducing to a 7% level of body fat (12% females) is not necessarily recommended, but rather, it is a minimum. In fact, the large majority of high school wrestlers compete at a weight above a 7% level of body fat. In no way is HCPSS recommending or endorsing that a wrestler reduce to a weight that corresponds to a 7% level of body fat. Instead, if in the opinion of a medical doctor and a wrestler's parents a 7% level of body fat is safe and appropriate for a wrestler, then the wrestler may reduce to a corresponding weight classification.
Thank you in advance for supporting our efforts to attain the highest degree of safety for your son or daughter.
In health,
Ms. Gina Palermo MS ATC LAT
Liberty High School Athletic Trainer
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