Tournament Scoring Rules

How BracketBoard calculates team points and tournament standings. Scoring varies by tournament type.

Folkstyle (High School / College)

Used for NFHS (High School) and NCAA (College) tournaments.

Match Result Points

Points awarded when a wrestler wins by a specific method:

Result Type	Bonus Points
Fall / Pin	2
Forfeit	2
Disqualification (DQ)	2
Injury Default	2
Technical Fall (15+ point difference)	1.5
Major Decision (8–14 point difference)	1
Regular Decision (fewer than 8 points)	0

Advancement Points

Points awarded for each win, based on the bracket type:

Bracket Type	Points per Win
Championship (Winners) Bracket	1
Consolation (Losers) Bracket	0.5

Placement rounds (e.g., 3rd-place match) do not award advancement points.

Placement Points

Points awarded based on final tournament placement in each bracket:

Placement	Points
1st Place (Champion)	16
2nd Place (Runner-up)	12
3rd Place	10
4th Place	9
5th Place	7
6th Place	6
7th Place	4
8th Place	3

Total Team Score

A team's total points are calculated as:

Total Points = Advancement Points + Bonus Points + Placement Points

Points are aggregated across all brackets (divisions) in a tournament. Higher total points indicate stronger overall team performance.

Example Calculation

A wrestler from “Eagles” team:

•Wins in championship bracket by technical fall = 1 (advancement) + 1.5 (bonus) = 2.5 points
•Wins in consolation bracket by pin = 0.5 (advancement) + 2 (bonus) = 2.5 points
•Places 2nd overall = 12 placement points
•Team total from this bracket: 2.5 + 2.5 + 12 = 17 points

Notes

•Bye matches do not award points
•Only placements 1st through 8th award placement points
•Participants without a team affiliation do not contribute to team scores
•Team names are grouped case-insensitively (e.g., “Eagles” and “eagles” are the same team)

Freestyle (International / UWW)

Used for Freestyle and UWW (international) tournaments. Points are awarded for placement only.

Placement-Only Scoring

In Freestyle tournaments, match results and advancement do not award points. Only final placement matters.

Placement	Points
1st Place	25
2nd Place	20
3rd Place	15
4th Place	12
5th Place	9
6th Place	6
7th Place	4

Total Team Score

A team's total points are calculated as:

Total Points = Placement Points Only

Points are aggregated across all brackets (divisions) in a tournament. Match outcomes do not affect team scoring—only final placement in each bracket matters.

Notes

•No advancement or bonus points are awarded in Freestyle
•Only placements 1st through 7th award placement points
•Participants without a team affiliation do not contribute to team scores
•Team names are grouped case-insensitively

Round Robin (Pool Play)

Round-robin pools score differently from elimination brackets. Every wrestler faces every other; rankings come from win-loss records with a defined tie-breaker chain.

Per-Match Team Points

Round-robin matches use dual-meet bout points instead of elimination’s advancement + bonus split. The winner’s team earns:

Result Type	Team Points
Fall / Pin	6
Forfeit / Disqualification / Injury Default	6
Technical Fall (15+ point margin)	5
Major Decision (8–14 point margin)	4
Regular Decision (fewer than 8 points)	3

Placement Points

Awarded only after every match in the pool is complete. Only the top two placements earn points:

Placement	Points
1st (Champion)	16
2nd (Runner-up)	12

Wrestlers who tie on every criterion below share their bucket of points evenly. Two wrestlers tied for 1st each receive (16 + 12) / 2 = 14; three tied for 1st each receive (16 + 12) / 3 ≈ 9.33.

Tie-Breaking Criteria

When two or more wrestlers finish with the same win-loss record, the following criteria are applied in order until the tie is broken:

1.Head-to-head. Only when exactly two wrestlers are tied — the wrestler who won the match between them ranks higher.
2.Pins. More wins by fall ranks higher.
3.Technical Falls. More wins by tech fall (15+ point margin) ranks higher.
4.Major Decisions. More wins by major decision (8–14 point margin) ranks higher.
5.Pin Time. Faster cumulative fall time ranks higher.
6.Tech Fall Time. Not tracked by BracketBoard today — this criterion is skipped.
7.Match Points. Most points accumulated across all matches ranks higher.
8.If wrestlers remain tied after all criteria, they share a rank (shown as T-1st, T-3rd, etc.).

Note:Tech fall time is part of the standard NFHS-style chain but isn’t recorded by BracketBoard yet — the app jumps from pin time directly to match points.

Team Standings Display

Round-robin pools earn no advancement points, so the “Adv” column is hidden on the Team Standings table for all-round-robin tournaments. The per-match bout points are reported in the “Bonus” column.

Dual Meet Tie-Breakers

When a dual meet finishes level on team points, the winner is decided by the official rule-book criteria, applied in order until one team comes out ahead. The chain differs between high school (NFHS) and college (NCAA). When a tie is broken, the scoreboard shows which criterion decided it — hover the result for the full breakdown.

Steps marked *rely on data BracketBoard doesn’t record yet, so they’re skipped — the chain falls through to the next criterion it can measure.

High School (NFHS)

1.Fewest flagrant-misconduct penalties.*
2.Fewest coach-misconduct penalties.*
3.Fewest unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties.*
4.Most matches won. Includes forfeits, defaults, and disqualifications.
5.Most falls, forfeits, defaults & disqualifications.
6.Most technical falls.
7.Most major decisions.
8.First points scored.* Requires move-by-move timing.
9.Most near-fall points. Total back points (2, 3, or 4 per near fall) scored in decisions, major decisions, and technical falls.
10.Most takedowns. Counted from decisions, major decisions, and technical falls.

College (NCAA)

The NCAA chain is seven steps. Criteria 3 through 5 count only points and moves scored in decisions, major decisions, and technical falls (falls and forfeits are excluded).

1.Most victories. Includes forfeits, defaults, and disqualifications.
2.Most falls, forfeits, defaults & disqualifications.
3.Total match points. Both wrestlers’ points from decisions, major decisions, and technical falls.
4.Most near-fall points. Total back points scored in those same bout types.
5.Most takedowns. From those same bout types.
6.Fewest unsportsmanlike-conduct calls.*
7.First takedown of the dual.* Requires move-by-move timing.

Note: Criteria marked *aren’t tracked by BracketBoard yet, so they’re skipped. If every measurable criterion is even, the dual is flagged for manual review.