Wrestling Goes Green

Once a staple of the referee’s table, bout sheets have gone digital.  

 CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (October 21) – For years wrestling events were run on paper. Each tournament saw thousands of bout sheets printed and distributed to referees, who used them to verify scores and match outcomes. 

 That'll soon be a thing of the past. 

In a pre-digital world, the bout sheets (which are kept by the judge and signed by the mat chairman after each match) were once seen as a protection against corruption and poor behavior. But with all matches now filmed and results updated instantly on a worldwide database the need for paper bouts has expired, allowing for a fully digital touchpad system. The change will save more than 30,000 pieces of paper per year, equivalent to 46 pounds of carbon saved per year.  

Sustainability is key part of United World Wrestling’s strategy moving forward and eliminating paper waster brings the organization more in line with partners like the IOC, FISU, and Commonwealth Games Federation. It’s clear to all members of the worldwide sports community that sustainability must be a top priority when organizing events.

For United World Wrestling the project started a year ago but with the speed an importance of events it was proving difficult to implement with overburdened referees. With the last several months of stay-at-home orders and lack of tournaments, the digital system was distributed to the referees who have been able to train on the system for the upcoming competitions

The system will be utilized during the next Olympic cycle.