Rules & Procedures

U17 Freestyle & Greco-Roman:

• All Athletes Must be US Citizens & be eligible to obtain a US Passport
• There is no qualification tournament for the Greco-Roman or Freestyle U17 Pan-American Team Trials.

Bracketing:

• The tournament will be conducted under a MODIFIED double-elimination line-bracketing format. Athletes who lose to Semifinalist will be placed in a repechage bracket.
• The repêchage bracket will wrestle for a single Bronze medal in each weight category. Semifinal losers will also be placed in the modified repechage.
• Brackets with five (5) or less will use the nordic system (everyone wrestles everyone). 
• Brackets with six (6) or more will use Line Bracketing.  

U17 Male Athletes will earn points for competing in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle. The highest point value (both styles combined) will earn the right to compete in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle at the 2026 U17 Pan American Championships. If there is a tie in point value, the following criteria will be used in ranked order: 1. Double All-Americans from the trials event, that won in either style. 2. Double All-Americans from the trials event with the most pins in the least amount of time. 3. Double All-Americans from the trials event with the most tech-falls in the least amount of time. 4. Double All-Americans from the trials event with the most total points scored. 5. If there are no double All-Americans, the spot will be awarded to the champion from either Greco-Roman or Freestyle that has earned the most pins in the least amount of time.

CLICK HERE for U17 Pan-American Selection Process (Men)

CLICK HERE for U17 Pan-American Selection Process (Women)

The U17 Pan American Championships are currently scheduled for April 2nd – 4th, 2026 in Panama City, Panama. A passport will be required, so it is highly recommended that you plan on securing a passport at your earliest convenience. USA Wrestling will work down the list in rank order. If for any reason an athlete can’t make the weight or does NOT have a passport, USA Wrestling reserves the right to take the necessary steps to fill the team as quickly as possible. This is a fully funded tour. If you are selected for the team, you will need to secure a passport by Tuesday, March 17th.

The tournament will be conducted under UWW Freestyle & Greco-Roman Wrestling Rules with modifications accepted by UWW.

Nationality/Passport requirements:

• The Pan-American Team Trials process is open to all U.S. citizens eligible to represent the United States of America at the Pan-American Championships as governed by United World Wrestling (UWW) and USA Wrestling (USAW) rules.
• Athlete must be a United States citizen; and have completed USA sporting nationality with UWW prior to the athlete's World Team and Pan Am Games Tryout event.
  • Questions about requirements please contact National Teams at cbickley@usawrestling.org

* All divisions will be seeded using the USA Wrestling Performance Index (PIN).

USA Wrestling Performance Index (PIN): Separation used for all brackets. Click here for more information about PIN 

• The USA Wrestling Performance Index (PIN) measures consistency over time and rates the probability of a person winning against an opponent based on their bodies of work.
• A person with a higher PIN is considered more likely to beat someone with a lower PIN and the closer the PINs are the closer the probability gets to 50/50 chances.
• This does not reward the one time win or head-to-head over an opponent; what it does is rewards consistency over time. If you consistently beat people with higher PINs, you will gain PIN points to surpass them in index given that you do not lose to lesser competition along the way.

USA Wrestling Code of Conduct for Event Attendees

USA Wrestling is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and positive environment for all participants, including athletes, coaches, officials, and fans. All individuals attending or participating in USA Wrestling events are expected to uphold the highest standards of sportsmanship, integrity, and respect.

The following standards apply to all coaches, spectators and athletes at USA Wrestling events:

• Coaches, spectators and athletes are entitled to enjoy the wrestling experience free from disruptive or inconsiderate behaviors or unruly actions.
• Coaches and spectators may not interfere with the event and/or athletes in any manner.
• Coaches, spectators and athletes shall refrain from using abusive language or obscene gestures.
• Coaches, spectators and athletes may not engage in fighting, throwing objects, or other behavior deemed detrimental to the experience of others. Individuals engaging in such actions will be immediately ejected from the event.
• Coaches, spectators and athletes are encouraged to report inappropriate behavior to event or venue staff.
• Coaches, spectators and athletes shall comply with requests from venue staff and USAW event staff regarding venue operational and emergency procedures.
• Violation of this Code of Conduct may result in ejection from the venue without refund and may include further disciplinary action.

USA Wrestling thanks you for adhering to the provisions of the Code of Conduct.