Official Rules

The official modern rules of Irish Collar and Elbow wrestling.

Modern Ruleset

The duration of a standard bout is five (5) minutes.

The duration of a championship bout is ten (10) minutes.

The weight classes for men (adult) are:

-70kg, -80kg, -90kg, -99kg +99kg

The weight classes for women (adult) are:

-50kg, -60kg, -70kg, +70kg

Take your right hand and grab your opponent’s collar at the level of their collarbone.
Your opponent does the same to you.
With your left hand, grab the sleeve of their jacket at the elbow. Likewise, they do the same to you.
If both contestants are left handed and agree, then these grips can be reversed.
These Collar and Elbow grips are to be maintained the entire time you’re in the standing position.
You can only release them to safely breakfall if you’re being thrown.

Your goal is to score falls against your opponent. There are two ways of scoring a fall:

Throw or trip your opponent so that they hit the ground with any part of their
body on or above the knees.
Your opponent loses their Collar and Elbow grips at any point, either by your action or their own.

Victory in a standard bout is determined by best of three falls.

Victory in a championship bout is determined by best of five falls.

Any and all takedowns (apart from the exception listed under ). Foot sweeps, trips, hip throws are all allowed.

Any technique is permitted once you can do it while maintaining your Collar and Elbow grips.