Should the practice of "weight cutting" be allowed in sporting?

[Elta]

I meant it to be more like 2 hours before. The only problem with that is that if people are overweight they pretty much have no chance.

IIRC in NCAA wrestling they have random weight ins a few times a month for everyone now and it pretty much cleared up the problem.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Hardcore. I'm with ya.

And all those people buying jerseys and crap can use their money for the greater good instead.

Seriously, those things cost so much money its insane. I'm continually amazed (and by now weary and tired from reminding them) that people can spend so much money on a piece of colored fabric. You could make a cell phone payment with that money, or take your girl to a nice dinner and movie, or, hell, just bloody save it. God I hate consumer culture.

While we're on that note, I have no problem with sumptuary laws, either, just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[azzaman333]

Seriously, those things cost so much money its insane. I'm continually amazed (and by now weary and tired from reminding them) that people can spend so much money on a piece of colored fabric. You could make a cell phone payment with that money, or take your girl to a nice dinner and movie, or, hell, just bloody save it. God I hate consumer culture.

While we're on that note, I have no problem with sumptuary laws, either, just thought I'd throw that out there.

No one is forcing you to buy them. Let idiots waste their money on crap, I say!

 

[Death_Machine]

It's easy to enforce no weight cutting. Just do same-day weigh-ins. Then they can't cut weight (or they would just severely risk their health).

And I think that it should be done. It's not an aspect of the sport, and it's not strategical. It is not a skill that should matter in a sport. And no one will really be at a disadvantage if it is stopped (everyone moves up a weight class and competes against the same people), and they will all be healthier. Simple issue with obvious solution, that is fought against only for the continuing of a stupid tradition so people can have any advantage possible.

I take it that you have never competed in a sport where a weigh-in was required.

How would you enforce a "no weight cut" policy? Whenever your initial weigh in is would be the time that the athlete has targeted for the weight class in which they wish to compete.

As far as the "stupid tradition so people can have any advantage possible", WTH is the purpose of competing if not to win? If I am in a competition you can bet your ass that I'm doing everything within the rules to give myself any advantage possible.

Did you think about what you were writing before you posted?

 

[Zelig]

How would you enforce a "no weight cut" policy? Whenever your initial weigh in is would be the time that the athlete has targeted for the weight class in which they wish to compete.

But if the weigh-in in 10 minutes before the event, it's pretty pointless to cut weight for the weigh-in.

 

[Death_Machine]

But if the weigh-in in 10 minutes before the event, it's pretty pointless to cut weight for the weigh-in.

So you would have each weight class weigh in 10 minutes before their event? Shouldn't the athlete be warming up at that time?

 

[Ecofarm]

How long does it take to jump on a scale?

Weigh-ins right before the event is a simple way to end this sillyness.

 

[El_Machinae]

Even a few hours doesn't matter, since you're suffering a competitive disadvantage by too severly modifying your weight just before the competition.

 

[Death_Machine]

How long does it take to jump on a scale?

Weigh-ins right before the event is a simple way to end this sillyness.

It has been my experience that weigh-ins would happen a couple of hours prior to the event, or in the case of a tourny the morning before and a second weigh in the night before the second day, or if a wrestler couldn't make weight they could try again in the morning an hour or 2 before the event started its second day.

 

[Syterion]

I take it that you have never competed in a sport where a weigh-in was required.

How would you enforce a "no weight cut" policy? Whenever your initial weigh in is would be the time that the athlete has targeted for the weight class in which they wish to compete.

As far as the "stupid tradition so people can have any advantage possible", WTH is the purpose of competing if not to win? If I am in a competition you can bet your ass that I'm doing everything within the rules to give myself any advantage possible.

Did you think about what you were writing before you posted?

I wrestled in high school. I have cut weight. I would enforce it in the obvious ways, as in weigh-ins an hour or two before the event or like Elta said, random weigh-ins during the season.

The purpose of competition isn't only winning. It's winning by superior skill, strategy, and strength. Weight cutting is not a skill that wrestling should encourage, because it has nothing to do with actual wrestling.

And I think your last sentence wasn't necessary, as you already made all your points. You can leave the personal attacks out when you argue. They only serve to weaken your points and make you seem immature.

 

[woody60707]

I used to wrestle in high school, as many others have. And the coach used to have us run up and down the halls in sweaters to sweat off the weight. Looking back at it, it couldn't have been healthy to have kids cutting weight like that.

I don't know about a more professional level, but at the high school level, it should be crazy illegal. We also had females on my team, who may be more effected about being pushed to cut weight.

 

[Elta]

I don't know about a more professional level,

Professional as in the Olympics and things like that?

They have random weight ins as well.

In MMA the weight classes are 135 and under, 145, 155, 170, 185, 205 and 206 - 265. In Nevada anyway (which is the rules the UFC used)

There is hardly ever any changing of weight classes by a fighter. These guys usually fight around 10% body and only lose 10 pounds in water weight. Or at least that's what's safe and that's what they claim.

 

[Death_Machine]

The purpose of competition isn't only winning. It's winning by superior skill, strategy, and strength. Weight cutting is not a skill that wrestling should encourage, because it has nothing to do with actual wrestling.

And I think your last sentence wasn't necessary, as you already made all your points. You can leave the personal attacks out when you argue. They only serve to weaken your points and make you seem immature.

There is nothing wrong with cutting weight. Like I said originally, there is a right way & a wrong way to do it. If I am 2 pounds above the next lower weight class & 8 below the tolerance why would I not cut the 2 pounds?

As far as a personal attack, I don't think asking if you thought about what you were writing qualifies.

 

[Zelig]

There is nothing wrong with cutting weight. Like I said originally, there is a right way & a wrong way to do it. If I am 2 pounds above the next lower weight class & 8 below the tolerance why would I not cut the 2 pounds?

Because it has nothing to do with wrestling skill.

If the weigh-in is right before the fight, and you lose 2 pounds for the fight, it isn't "weight cutting" as commonly understood it's just losing weight for the fight.

"Weight cutting" for something like equestrian sports isn't as clear, but equestrian sports suck anyway.