WRESTLING TOURNAMENTS ORGANIZATION

The following is a brief description of how a wrestling tournament is organized and run. This is meant to be a general guide as the rules for tournaments do vary. The tournament is divided into a number of brackets based on age and weight. For youth tournaments the ages range from 5-12 and weight classes every 5 pounds starting with 35. Higher age brackets generally start with higher weights. Each wrestler is assigned to a bracket based on the weight and age indicated on the entry form. Each bracket consists of 16 wrestlers (8 matches) in the first round.

Most tournaments are double elimination, meaning that the wrestler must lose twice to be out of contention for an award.

Weigh-In – Generally the evening before and/or the morning of the tournament the weigh-in is conducted. Each wrestler is weighed and that weight is compared to what was reported on the entry form. If the wrestler weighs less than or equal to that weight he is then formally assigned to the bracket. If he does not he is generally given a reasonable time to attempt to lose a marginal amount of weight through a trip or two to the bathroom. If this cannot be accomplished he usually has the option of moving to the next higher weight bracket in his age group. The age and weight are written on the wrestler’s arm with a marker for ease of identification during the event.

Final Bracketing – The morning of the tournament the coaches for all wrestlers meet to determine who was unable to attend the tournament so that the brackets can be adjusted. This is a somewhat time consuming process that has to be performed as close to the start time as possible in order to allow everyone a chance to get there. Once the final brackets are completed they are posted in an area where everyone can see.

Seeding – In some tournaments, especially where they are limited to specific leagues or organizations, the wrestlers will be seeded in the brackets according to their record or their ability. This generally results in better matches and a fairer environment. For example, if the 2^nd best wrestler is put in the same half of the bracket as the top wrestler, they would wrestle prior to the final round. If the top wrestler beats the 2^nd seed then the best the 2^nd seed can do is 3^rd, which may not be a fair representation for the competition. In some cases, double elimination tournaments have a “true” second place where the winner in the losers half of the bracket wrestles the child who places second in the winners bracket (as long as they have not met elsewhere in the bracket).

Start of Matches – Once the final bracketing is competed wrestling can begin. Usually the tournaments start with the lowest age and weight brackets and move upward. This cycle is repeated for each round, however it is likely that once the first round is completed the order will not follow the age/weight brackets exactly. This is because of the variations in the number of wrestlers in each bracket and the length of matches. Generally, the organizers will focus on keeping the action going rather than the exact order of the matches. Because of this your child may experience a long delay between matches followed by 2 or 3 in quick succession. Most tournaments have rules that prevent the same child from wrestling 2 matches in a given time period, usually around ½ hour.

Result Posting – Most tournaments will update the brackets as the tournament progresses. This is extremely helpful since it will tell you whom your child is wrestling next and help him prepare.

Awards – Most tournaments give trophies for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd places. In some cases an award is given for 4^th place.