The Wrestling Season
The wrestling season for folkstyle wrestling
begins in February and runs through April. The freestyle and Greco-Roman
wrestling season begins in March or April and runs through July. School
programs, being folkstyle, follow the winter schedule. Clubs vary, depending on
their orientation, although some clubs practice throughout the year and compete
in all styles.
The wrestling season can be organized
differently, depending on whether your child is participating in a school
program or an independent club. School sponsored wrestling typically involves
after-school practice sessions with weekly meets and tournaments. Meets involve
matches between the starting wrestlers from each of the two or more schools.
Standard weight classes apply to all teams and competitions. Competition exists
within teams for starting positions.
Some school systems only offer wrestling at the
high school level, however, private wrestling clubs can provide opportunities
to participate at younger ages.
Wrestling clubs typically hold practices two or
three times per week and have anywhere from a few, to more than 100 wrestlers
ranging in age from 4 to 14. Club participants do not compete for starting
positions on the team. In most situations, tournaments are open to all members.
Club and tournament operation typically conform
to guidelines of an affiliated state wrestling program. For example, most kids
wrestling clubs in Wisconsin belong to the WWF (Wisconsin Wrestling Federation)
which provides everything from insurance to state tournament competition,
resulting in a high standard of organization, consistency and safety throughout
the state.
Tournaments
Wrestlers of all ages can compete in weekly
season tournaments held in most metropolitan areas throughout the Unites
States. Tournament competition is organized by weight and age. Typical age
brackets, for example, are as follows: 8 and Under, 9&10, 11&12, and
13&14. Weight classes are either pre-determined, or blocked into groups of
4 or 8 after all wrestlers have weighed in.
Most school-sponsored tournaments are held on
Saturdays. Most club-sponsored tournaments during the school season are held on
Sundays because officials are busy with school tournaments. Wrestling
tournaments can last for 4 to 6 hours, and can involve as many as 200 to more
than 1000 participants. Depending on the team schedule, there can be as many as
ten or more tournaments throughout the season, some of which can be as far as
several hours away.
Registration is usually taken in advance;
however, wrestlers can sometimes register at the door when capacity has not
been met. Mandatory weigh-ins are most often held the morning of the tournament
approximately 1 to 2 hours before the first round of competition. At weigh-in,
wrestlers’ weights, ages and experience levels are recorded on slips of paper
that are used to form brackets. Some tournaments have pre-determined weight
classifications, and brackets are formed within those classifications.
A completed bracket sheet will show specific
parings for each match. After each round, bracket sheets are updated to show
parings for the following round. Winners continue to advance, while those that
loose are typically eligible for “wrestle backs” in competition for third or
fifth.
Four-man brackets are common with 8 and under age
groups, and eight-man brackets are most common for older age groups. There is
usually a 30 to 60 minute period before the tournament begins, when wrestlers
can warm up and locate their bracket sheet if the tournament sponsor posts them
before rounds.
Wrestlers typically wrestle two to four matches
in any one tournament; however, it’s possible in some situations to wrestle more.
Tournaments are organized in rounds, allowing wrestlers sufficient time to rest
between matches. Before each round, pairings are determined, using result of
the previous round, and wrestlers are called to a staging area or “bull pen”.
Wrestlers are then escorted to the mat by bracket, as mat space becomes
available. Some tournaments call wrestlers to the mat by name instead of using
the “bull pen” staging method.
Tournament regulations usually limit the number
of coaches allowed to coach from the edge of the mat. A referee starts and
stops the match, awarding points when appropriate. When the match is over,
wrestlers shake hands and return to their coaches. In some cases, winners must
sign the score card at the scoring table. Trophies or metals are awarded for 1st,
2nd 3rd and 4th, and sometimes 5th
and 6th, after all matches in their bracket have been completed.
Awards are sometimes presented at the scoring table immediately after the
match, or as announced from the head table. Wrestlers are free to leave after
awards are presented, unless there are team activities for which they need to
be present.