Is the rule still 4 Novice championships to move a wrestler up to Open? I also thought 3rd year kids are automatically Open. Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately there is no rule. It is up to the parents and coaches. Some tourneys are trying to set some guidelines but I don't see how they will be able to enforce them. Trophy hunters will get 3rd or 4th at open, drop down to novice the next day, beat up on beginners and feel better about themselves and the parents will be proud of their little champion.

I thought Novice tourneys were for 1st or 2nd year wrestlers?

I did too, pretty sure it even said that on the registration form last year. Maybe they put that on their in hopes of making it work that way but its not really a rule?

The official statement from USAW KS is a "guideline" that was issued in 2005. The highlights were:

1 - 1st or 2nd year wrestler.

2 - Could not have won MORE than 4 Novice tournaments.

3 - Could not have WON an open tournament.

Even qualifying for state does not keep you out of Novice tournaments. There have been kids that have scratched their way into the state tournament with very few kids in their bracket. There are exceptions to these guidelines. I have seen 3rd year wrestlers that cannot compete at open tournaments and are still getting beat at novice tournaments. I have also seen 1st year wrestlers that are so athletic that they should be wrestling open right away. Most coaches in Kansas can clearly tell if a wrestler should be moved to the Open division.

... and we have even seen State placers who didn't win a match in Subs, District or State!

Novice rules are rarely enforced and it's usually up to the tournament directors and the kids' coaches to keep these kids from breaking the rule... but many times nobody steps in and says no to them. One year (at our old club) we held a novice tournament and we had a state placer (who took 5th in a loaded state bracket and knocked off a #1 seed kid to get there) sign up for our novice tournament because it was only his 2nd season wrestling. A few of our coaches stepped up and said that he shouldn't be allowed, but the board allowed him to enter anyway. It caused alot of feedback to our workers from other clubs that attended and a few of us discussed it with some of his coaches and they said it wouldn't happen again, but there was no penalty (other than a scolding by mad parents) and he got to keep his 1st place medal.
As I pointed out, it's up to the tournament directors and club coaches to police and enforce the novice rule, but don't expect the rules to be followed by everyone... especially those who like to trophy hunt!

While it's frustrating to have people abuse the novice rules of individual tournaments I would encourage all clubs to decline a state definition of novices. As we learned at the state meeting, rules such as this and others carry no penalty for violators and so each club will in effect be on the honor system. At the same time it sets up future rules that would attempt to take more control of your and my clubs invitationals. Would you for instance be in favor of having to hire all certified officials? Or perhaps be told how much you must pay those officials? Etc., etc., etc..
As we see in this thread, there are a hundred different ideas of what constitutes a novice and there will always be exceptions to any definition. Leave it up to each club to decide what the novice qualifications are for their invitational and keep the rules for things that can be enforced. If you don't like a particular club's idea of what is a novice, take your business elsewhere.