My perfect youth club tournment

[gablesgrip1]

My youngest son(out of 3) graduates this year and I have been involved with coaching wrestling at all levels(except college) for almost 30 years. I have seen many youth tournaments, especially in small communities.

The best way, IMO, to run a tournment:  morning session, k-4 run a camp with 60 or so kids(depending on mat space).  30 minutes of warm-ups and technique, 30 minutes of live wrestling(groups of 3 to 5 wrestlers) and 30 minutes of wrestling games.  Have the 3-8 clubs(depending on the size of their club) sign up using TRACK with their weghts.  $5 to $12 per wrestler, each wrestler is assigned a group number on their wrist(this would be their group for live wrestling).  One parent or coach is with each group to ref or monitor, not coach.

Session 2: run a normal 5th-8th grade tournament.

Thoughts?

[DocWrestling]

Awesome idea! Focus on development rather than awards.  Spending $20 for sitting 8 hours in a gym for at most 9 minutes of wrestling does absolutely nothing for getting better.

Clubs need to get together on Saturday mornings.  Run 3 hour camps together from 8:30am-11:30am and then have pizza and go home.  New practice partners and same real matches without refs or score plus drilling and games.

Maximizing everyone's time!  

Downfall is nobody makes money and really that's all these tournaments are.  They are fundraisers and we are all suckers for them.

Clubs could probably make money and instead of the tournament, run a 3-hour camp for $25 and includes pizza afterwards.  Don't have to pay for awards and don't need all the volunteers

[imnofish]

I like the idea, because each portion is more likely to be developmentally appropriate for its participants.  Helping kids grow in and through the sport should be the top priority and this is obviously the case with your format.  I'm sure some people will worry about revenue losses, but you can still charge entry fees for the younger kids and you will more likely see your numbers of older wrestlers increase over the next few years, due to their positive response to this model as younger wrestlers.  It's smart to plan long-term development, rather than staying focused on short-term rewards.  Kudos to you for paying attention and using what you've learned for the kids' benefit.  I sincerely hope you are able to put your plan into action.

[GradeTough]

That's definitely a different format. For the younger grade level, it will appeal to a lot of parents. The challenge is herding the kids because with that many kids, you have to have a system to keep them engaged and in the future while simultaneously keeping the chaos at a minimum. For the older group, there is a tournament without the little kids running around with their noise and craziness.

[DocWrestling]

I have always said no tournament should have all 4 age/grade divisions.  2 at the most.  Easy to keep people in stands and easier to manage making experience better for all.

Two clubs fairly close should pick date.  On that date one hosts the K-4 (If you have to have it) and the other has the 5-8.  Then the next year swap.

Right now- 
Tournament A has...
K-2- 75 wrestlers
3-4- 75
5-6- 75
7-8- 75

Tournament B has the same

Combine the two and...
Tournament A has
K-2- 150 wrestlers
3-4- 150 wrestlers

Tournament Bhas
5-6- 150 wrestlers
7-8- 150 wrestlers.

More wrestlers from the same age group in the same location making it easier to match up kids of similar abilities.  Better experience for all

[imnofish]

I have always said no tournament should have all 4 age/grade divisions.  2 at the most.  Easy to keep people in stands and easier to manage making experience better for all.

Two clubs fairly close should pick date.  On that date one hosts the K-4 (If you have to have it) and the other has the 5-8.  Then the next year swap.

Right now- 
Tournament A has...
K-2- 75 wrestlers
3-4- 75
5-6- 75
7-8- 75

Tournament B has the same

Combine the two and...
Tournament A has
K-2- 150 wrestlers
3-4- 150 wrestlers

Tournament Bhas
5-6- 150 wrestlers
7-8- 150 wrestlers.

More wrestlers from the same age group in the same location making it easier to match up kids of similar abilities.  Better experience for all

Makes sense, but what about families with wrestlers in multiple age groups?  Could be challenging to be in 2 places at once...

[LCWrestlerDad]

Here is what we did for our club wrestling tournament.

The Little Chute Wrestling Club decided that they want reduce the negatives of a youth tournament. The club has looked at our past tournaments as well as other youth tournaments to see how tournaments can be improved. The goal of the Little Chute Wrestling Club is to host a tournament that will provide a positive experience for all wrestlers and their families. In last year's tournament all matches were only wrestled on full mats and the response from the wrestlers and fan's were all positive.

Here are is a list of negatives that this tournament will reduce or eliminate.
- Wrestling Space - The typical tournament quarters or halves a mat for the younger wrestlers.
- Crowded mat side - Very difficult to handle crowd control.
- Noise - Wrestlers become intimidated when coaches/parents are right next to the match screaming.
- Younger wrestlers wrestle on mats without seating - Many times the younger brackets wrestle on mats that are not in front of the main bleachers.
- Size - Often tournaments will try and get as many wrestlers into a tournament.
- Referees - Many tournaments use high school wrestlers as referees.
- Length of Tournament -  Too many times a tournament take way too long.

Full Size Mats.
The wrestling will only be held on full mats.
- COOL factor -The younger wrestlers thinks it's cool to wrestle on a full mat after being forced to wrestler in a quarter of the mat
- Reduces crowded mat side. A full mat helps with the visibility of the wrestling match which keeps the wrestling parents in the stands and not mat side.
- Reduces the mat side Noise - The wrestlers are not wrestling right on the edge of the mat, so the coaches/parents are not right on top of the wrestlers screaming.
- Time - Matches are completed quicker because there is a lot less stoppage during a match.

Referees
Only WIAA certified referees are used at this tournament.
- Cuts down on injuries because the certified referees recognize potential dangerous situations quicker and stop the match.
- Cuts down on questionable calls because the certified referee has a better understanding of the rules.

Tournament size.
These tournament is only a Pre-K to 6th grade tournament and has a maximum amount of wrestlers at 350.
- Allows the use of full size mats and not extend the time it takes to complete the tournament.
- Reduces crowding.

Younger wrestlers in front of the main bleachers
The younger wrestlers will be wrestling on the mats that will be in front of the main bleachers. History shows that younger wrestlers almost always have the majority of fans to show up.
Crowd mat side - With the younger wrestling matches taking place in front of the bleachers, which provides seating for all these extra fans and this in turn reduces the crowded mat side.

Length of Tournament
Tournaments don't seem to be as long if many of the frustrations of a wrestling tournament can be reduced.

[imnofish]

Here is what we did for our club wrestling tournament.

The Little Chute Wrestling Club decided that they want reduce the negatives of a youth tournament. The club has looked at our past tournaments as well as other youth tournaments to see how tournaments can be improved. The goal of the Little Chute Wrestling Club is to host a tournament that will provide a positive experience for all wrestlers and their families. In last year's tournament all matches were only wrestled on full mats and the response from the wrestlers and fan's were all positive.

Here are is a list of negatives that this tournament will reduce or eliminate.
- Wrestling Space - The typical tournament quarters or halves a mat for the younger wrestlers.
- Crowded mat side - Very difficult to handle crowd control.
- Noise - Wrestlers become intimidated when coaches/parents are right next to the match screaming.
- Younger wrestlers wrestle on mats without seating - Many times the younger brackets wrestle on mats that are not in front of the main bleachers.
- Size - Often tournaments will try and get as many wrestlers into a tournament.
- Referees - Many tournaments use high school wrestlers as referees.
- Length of Tournament -  Too many times a tournament take way too long.

Full Size Mats.
The wrestling will only be held on full mats.
- COOL factor -The younger wrestlers thinks it's cool to wrestle on a full mat after being forced to wrestler in a quarter of the mat
- Reduces crowded mat side. A full mat helps with the visibility of the wrestling match which keeps the wrestling parents in the stands and not mat side.
- Reduces the mat side Noise - The wrestlers are not wrestling right on the edge of the mat, so the coaches/parents are not right on top of the wrestlers screaming.
- Time - Matches are completed quicker because there is a lot less stoppage during a match.

Referees
Only WIAA certified referees are used at this tournament.
- Cuts down on injuries because the certified referees recognize potential dangerous situations quicker and stop the match.
- Cuts down on questionable calls because the certified referee has a better understanding of the rules.

Tournament size.
These tournament is only a Pre-K to 6th grade tournament and has a maximum amount of wrestlers at 350.
- Allows the use of full size mats and not extend the time it takes to complete the tournament.
- Reduces crowding.

Younger wrestlers in front of the main bleachers
The younger wrestlers will be wrestling on the mats that will be in front of the main bleachers. History shows that younger wrestlers almost always have the majority of fans to show up.
Crowd mat side - With the younger wrestling matches taking place in front of the bleachers, which provides seating for all these extra fans and this in turn reduces the crowded mat side.

Length of Tournament
Tournaments don't seem to be as long if many of the frustrations of a wrestling tournament can be reduced.

Kudos to LC for putting kids before profits!  You obviously put a lot of thought into this, including some soul searching re your priorities. 
There is so much here that will benefit the wrestlers and the sport of wrestling!

[Handles II]

I have always said no tournament should have all 4 age/grade divisions.  2 at the most.  Easy to keep people in stands and easier to manage making experience better for all.

Two clubs fairly close should pick date.  On that date one hosts the K-4 (If you have to have it) and the other has the 5-8.  Then the next year swap.

Right now- 
Tournament A has...
K-2- 75 wrestlers
3-4- 75
5-6- 75
7-8- 75

Tournament B has the same

Combine the two and...
Tournament A has
K-2- 150 wrestlers
3-4- 150 wrestlers

Tournament Bhas
5-6- 150 wrestlers
7-8- 150 wrestlers.

More wrestlers from the same age group in the same location making it easier to match up kids of similar abilities.  Better experience for all

Reality is that K-2 has 75 wrestlers, 3-4 has 50 wrestlers, 5-6 has 35 wrestlers, and 7-8 has 20 wrestlers.   That's our actual problem and K-4 tournaments are not the solution.