Victory Conditions in Collegiate Wrestling

While having similar victory conditions with Greco-Roman and freestyle, such as wins by fall, decision, injury, and disqualification, victory conditions in collegiate wrestling differ on some points from the international styles:

Win by Fall: A pin or fall (when a wrestler holds his opponent's shoulders or shoulder blades (scapulae) to the mat) in collegiate wrestling must be held for two seconds for high school wrestlers or one second for college wrestlers. A victory by pin is worth six team points in a dual meet.

Win by Technical Fall: If, at any break in action, one wrestler leads the other by 15 points and a pinning situation is not imminent, the match ends. The winning team is then awarded five team points. On the college level, five team points are awarded if the winner received points for a near fall; four team points are awarded if the wrestler did not score near fall points.

Win By Major Decision: In collegiate (scholastic or folkstyle) wrestling, a decision in which the winner outscores his opponent by eight or more points is a "major decision" and is rewarded with four team points in a dual meet.

Win By Decision: After the three wrestling periods have expired and the winning wrestler possesses a difference of one to seven in points, the wrestler is given a "decision", and the team is awarded three team points in a dual meet.
Win By Default: If a participant cannot continue wrestling for any reason during the course of the match (e.g. illness, injury, etc.), his opponent wins by default, worth six team points in a dual meet.

Win By Forfeit: If one wrestler fails to appear on the mat at the start of the match for some reason, and the other wrestler appears on the mat, the wrestler on the mat at the start of the match is automatically declared the winner. The winning team in a dual meet is then awarded six team points. If during the course of a tournament, a wrestler wishes to no longer participate because of illness or injury, then his opponent wins by medical forfeit, worth the same number of individual and team tournament placement points as a forfeit.
Win By Disqualification: For flagrant misconduct or for a certain number of penalties assessed, a wrestler is disqualified from the match, and his opponent is declared the winner. In a dual meet, this victory is worth six team points. Rules for how penalties and disqualifications are determined vary somewhat in collegiate (scholastic or folkstyle) wrestling from the international styles.
Dual meet scoring is very similar on the high school level.

Illegal moves
Andrell Durden (top) and Edward Harris grapple for position during the All-Marine Wrestle Offs.

Amateur wrestling is a positionally-based form of grappling, and thus generally prohibits the following:

Biting
Pinching or poking with the fingers, toes, or nails, including fish-hooking the nose or mouth
Gouging or intentionally scratching the opponent – eye-gouges especially are grounds for disqualification and banned status in most amateur wrestling competitions
Strikes using the hands, fists, elbows, feet, knees, or head
Joint locks, including armlocks, leglocks, spinal locks, wristlocks, and small joint manipulation.
Chokeholds, strangling, suffocating, or smothering
Spiking, or lifting and slamming the opponent head-first to the mat (though other forms of slamming are generally allowed in the international styles; in collegiate, slamming per se is illegal)
Grasping or holding the opponent's genitals
Using a figure-four (grappling hold) leg lock (where one knee is bent at a 90º (degree) angle and placed behind the other knee) on the torso or the head in the neutral position (It is, however, legal to figure-four the head if both wrestlers are not in the neutral position; this rule exists primarily to prevent people from using a figure-four lock of the head to prevent a 'shooting' takedown, as it is very dangerous in that circumstance.)
Most types of amateur wrestling also discourage or prohibit the use of one's own or the opponent's clothing for grasping or performing any type of hold.
No modern sport allows biting, finger-poking, eye-gouging, or genital shots. But many other grappling-based sports permit some or all of the other tactics listed above, including shoot wrestling, judo, jujutsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, professional wrestling, mixed martial arts, and catch wrestling. Different styles of amateur wrestling may also prohibit specific types of illegal holds (e.g. Greco-Roman wrestling prohibiting holds below the waist).

Equipment
Two college wrestlers in the United States with headgear competing in collegiate (scholastic or folkstyle) wrestling.
While there is not much equipment that a wrestler wears, it is still highly specialized. A wrestling singlet is a one-piece, tight-fitting, colored, lycra uniform. The uniform is tight-fitting so as not to get grasped accidentally by the opponent and allows the referee to see each wrestler's body clearly when awarding points or a pin. Women wrestlers wear a higher cut singlet usually with a sports-bra underneath.
Wrestling shoes are light, flexible, thin-soled, ankle-high sneakers that allow maximum speed and traction on the mat without giving up ankle support. The current rules call for laces (if any) to be covered so that they do not come untied during competition.
In American high school and college wrestling especially (Although under current FILA rules, it is optionable.[28]), headgear is mandatorily used[29][30] to protect the ears from cauliflower ear and other injuries. Headgear is made from molded plastic polymer or vinyl coated energy absorbing foam over a rigid hard liner and strapped to the head tightly.
Wrestling is conducted on a padded mat that must have excellent shock absorption, tear resistance, and compression qualities. Most mats are made of PVC rubber nitrile foam. Recent advances in technology have brought about new mats made using closed cell, cross-linked polyethylene foam covered in vinyl backed with non-woven polyester.