Hi all as many of you know and if you dont I have a daughter who wrestles for Ellsworth county her name Leea Bentley..At Manhattan tournament Saturday on her mat was another girl wrestling from another club and the girl lost her match and was crying I approached her and her mom and told them to keep their head up she will get the hang of it and introuduced my daughter as well..I had tslked about Kansas Krusaders and the Emporia tournament for girls next Sunday she said she wanted to take her daughter to it but was told by her club that if she went to this tournament then her daughter would face diciplinary action from the club..I was floored why would they do or say something like that? There is alot of girls coming out for wrestling which is Great but my question is is that fair for this girl to not be able to further her werstling or wrestle girls tournaments because her club dont like it? I feel if she wants to wrestle girls tournaments let her. To me this club is being UNFAIR!!! Having a girl of my own wrestling it personally makes me upset let them advance and be supportive after all its not just for boys anymore...

I'M A BIG SUPPORT OF GIRL WRESTLERS MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN WRESTLING FOR FOUR YEARS NOW AND ITS SO AWESOME WHEN SHE GETS ON THE MAT THE HEADS TURN TO HER. SHE IS 12 YEARS OLD AND WRESTLING 140 POUNDS FOR A GIRL THATS A BIG WEIGHT TO WRESTLE AND SHE GETS OUT THERE AND DOES HER BEST. WHEN SHE SEES ANOTHER GIRL OUT THERE SHE SHOWS HER SUPPORT AND CHEERS FOR THEM AND HAS GAINED ALOT OF FRIENDS. I KNOW ONE THING IF WE WERE TOLD THAT SHE WOULD GET INTO TROUBLE FOR GOING TO A GIRLS WRESTLING TOURAMENT I WOULD MAKE SURE I WOULD STAND UP TO THE CLUB NOBODY WILL TELL US WHERE TO TO WRESLE OR WHEN TO WRESTLE. WE PAY TO BE IN THE CLUB WE PAY TO WRESTLE AT TOURAMENT WHEN IT COMES OUT OF THEYRE POCKETS FOR MY CHILD TO WRESTLE THEN THEY CAN HAVE SAY SO. BUT UNTIL THEN THEY CANT DICIPLINE ANYBODY.

That is exactly the way I feel but to not allow a girl to advance is crazy they are offering scholorships for girls now for college in wrestling..girls work so hard to get the respect the boys do and I feel the club should be pleased to see a girl advance my daughters coach takes her to Krusader practice and never misses and all girl tournament or any match of hers..LETS GO GIRLS!!

that is awesome the coach does that i wish we lived closer so veronica could have the chance to practice with the krusaders that would help her for a better chance to see how the girls wrestles and advance her for college. next year she will be wrestling for junior high we need to get the game on it will be a step closer to high school and college...... i want to wish all the girls out there good luck and have fun..... we will be watching for all of you...

He took her to Kansas city yesterday after she took 1st in Manhattan just so he could be and take her to the Krusader practice today we are about 3 hour drive from where they are practicing right now..if her coach isnt there she will throw the match just to make a statment she is a pill lol I have to give major kudos to PETE ECK who makes it all possible sometimes I think he gets more excited than I do..For a girl to be told they cant advance is so wrong..we are all her for the love of the sport so be proud your girls can handle the boys and wants to keep going if you hold them back you might be messing with their future..what is the club scared of? lol maybe its just because I am a girls mom idk Keep going Veronica and all the girls..get ahold of coach ed on the Krusader sight and see if they can help with making a practice closer we are in trouble of losing emporia tournament due to not enough contestants so girls sign up now

I don't want to speak for the club, but many don't support "Girls" only tournaments for the protection of girls. These tournaments are excluding others from wrestling...ie boys. If other tournaments were to follow suit there could be "Boys" only events. I think all tournaments should be open to everyone.

I KNOW ONE THING IF WE WERE TOLD THAT SHE WOULD GET INTO TROUBLE FOR GOING TO A GIRLS WRESTLING TOURAMENT I WOULD MAKE SURE I WOULD STAND UP TO THE CLUB NOBODY WILL TELL US WHERE TO TO WRESLE OR WHEN TO WRESTLE. WE PAY TO BE IN THE CLUB WE PAY TO WRESTLE AT TOURAMENT WHEN IT COMES OUT OF THEYRE POCKETS FOR MY CHILD TO WRESTLE THEN THEY CAN HAVE SAY SO. BUT UNTIL THEN THEY CANT DICIPLINE ANYBODY. [/quote]
Dont want to make anybody mad here, but yes a club does have some say so as where you can or can't go. You signed up through that club which is sanctioned and if they want to they can so no, you cant go. I know in our club if we have someone that wants to go somewhere different then where the club is going then I usually make arrangements for them to do so. It's not right to not let her do it.

On the eve of Martin Luther King, Jr's Birthday it is sad that such a topic would be up and getting hits. We still have a long way to go. Strength comes in unity and togetherness. We have been working with girls wrestling for 12 years and are amazed at the thoughts and reasons people have for being for or against something...it is no different with womens wrestling. We have also ran a "boys" club for 15 years and we have rules about the team members not going to tourneys without the head coaches permission. It is my hope that possibly the team in question has the same rule as us and in fact the family of the girl wrestler misunderstood the rule. Unfortunately, we have seen many times where a team really doesn't want girl wrestlers on the team and doesn't want to give them the help they need to succeed. Once the girl finds out that the Kansas Krusaders provide support for the girl to expand her wrestling world to see what is available out there for girls. Their team will either embrace the fact that the girl is getting the help that they need or they will immediately feel threatened and think that the Krusaders are trying to steal their girl wrestler. This is not the case. The Kansas Krusaders have built a good reputation of helping the girls to advance and we are now getting national attention for our KS girls performances.

It is only ignorance that would keep a club from allowing the girls to work with the Krusaders and/or go to all girl tourneys. None of these activities will in any way affect the boys clubs adversely. If in fact we continue to grow the girls programs then we will optimally provide safety for the boys programs as well. It will provide a safer and less stressed environment overall for girls and boys.

There are arguments on both sides with girls wrestling girls, girls wrestling boys and what is the "right" answer. We do not profess to have all the answers but we have experienced this problem from all levels and have a pretty good picture of what goes on in numerous areas. What needs to be done is more people need to embrace girls wrestling and work towards a "girls wrestling girls" environment for the future of wrestling and the saftey of the girls.

If you would like to have more information or discussions regarding girls wrestling...we are available by phone , email, pm etc...we are easy to find.

Ed and Jenni Edison

Well Said Ms. Jenni and Coach Ed! I am proud to have such an opportunity for my daughter to advance her skills.As she gets older I personally would love for her to only wrestle girls for the sake of puberty and for the chance to have a fair chance since I know as she gets older some boys do not want to wrestle girls therefore refusing and giving a forfeit..or not wrestling to their potential afraid to hurt the girl..I do not understand how some ppl in todays society still have prejudices..Have we not learned anything from our ancestors and the fights they went through to make us all equal..The Krusaders to me make it possible for girls to westle girls and if more clubs supported girls on girls and we really accepted that girls are not goin anywhere then kids who dont want to werstle girls might not have to and coaches wouldnt have to worry about a girl on their team. The girls could have their own tournaments their own coaches their own team..That is what the Krusaders to me are trying so hard to do..For the Krusaders to be going for so long and have only the small support they do and so little tournaments for girls truly SHOCKS me..To me if you dont want a girl on your team or to wrestle one then support what the Krusaders are doing and host a tournament for girls only..The more tournaments are offered the better chance that less girls will be at the other tournaments..Granted there will most likely always be a girl who likes to wrestle openly and that is great too..and the mother could have very well misunderstood I only seen that girl wrestle and she said it was her first year..For our girls to wrestle in the open tournaments even at state there are rules that we must abide by that most boys do not such as the undergarment that is worn under singlet they must weigh with that on where as boys can weigh in singlet only..My daughter gets so much support from her family teammates and coaches also alot of other wrestling families..I wish the sterotypes of what girls can and cant do or what they should or shouldnt do would end I mean we elected a Black president that should signal that alot of "taboos" are now being accepted.. All we are doing is trying to expand the sport of wrestling and give everyone a fair chance..Ellsworth High School has a kid Jason Hughes who is a great wrestler and ppl who have seen him wrestle or who have wrestled against him know he gives up a fight and is not by any means an easy opponent but he is also BLIND..It is truly magical to see him compete knowing what a great obsticle he has had to work with to do what he has passion for to wrestle..I really hope that girls start getting more support and acceptance..The sky is the Limit and the Krusaders are giving our daughters the chance to reach their full potential..So to The Krusaders Coaches THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO AND FOR GIVING GIRLS THE CHANCE AND GUIDENCE NEEDED TO FLY HIGH!!!!

I, too, have a daughter that wrestles. She is 13 and 1 now. Everytime she gets on that mat, people watch her. They have seen her wrestle and love it. I would love to take her to Kansas Krusaders practices but we live too far from where they are practicing. I know if our club told us that we could not take her to girls tournament, I would tell them where to go and how to get there. She WILL be in Emporia next weekend. She whoops up on those boys, and some of them go out crying. We told her when she first started that they will treat you like a boy out on the mat. But we also told her, that if she knew the moves and was fast, then she would be alright. Girls wrestling has come a long way and I hope that it goes further. Go girls!

Emporia tourney is having problems with numbers in both the boys novice and the girls tourney. If this tourney is not able to go on because of numbers...the Kansas Krusaders will provide a "mini event" at the school in Burlingame. Now I don't want to hear that it is too far...it is just up the road from Emporia. Keep an eye on this thread and I will let you know how it is going for Sunday.

Ms. Jenni

I have been in contact with the President of the Manhattan Club, according to him they have no policy in place stating that a wrestler cannot attend a tournament the other wrestlers are not going to. They have done it in the past and would not keep a girl from participating in a girls tournament. He also stated that one of the girls they have on the team is their Head Coaches daughter. It sounds like it is probably a misunderstanding.

I think she is talking about a girl from Rossville, not Manhattan.

My bad, when she talked to me Saturday I thought she told me it was a girl on the Manhattan club.

Maybe it was then.

If it was, sorry.

If she is from Rossville she is talking to the wrong people, we would never tell someone they cannot go to a tourny.
We might tell them there wont be any coaches at that one but your welcome to go.

On Saturday I did talk to Lance and at that time I was under the mpression it was a Manhattan girl because she had a purple shirt on that covered her singlet in fact when I talked to the mom further it was not Manhattan and nor was it Rossville..I am sorry for the confusion Lance that was my mistake..I do not feel the need to announce the club name as I do not want to upset anyone I was just merely asking if that is fair of a team or coaches to do and say to a girl? I have made the Krusaders aware of the club and they are taking care of it they are more qualified then most of us and know what clubs due and have been dealing with all of this for many many years now..I was informed this is not uncommon for clubs to do or say...

Just curious but what would the parents of the girls say if a tournament was started that was boys only. I would imagine a good percent would say it was wrong and anyone should be able to enter. Well, I feel the same way. It is wrong to block boys from a tournament. It is wrong to block girls from a tournament. All should be open to everyone.

well said

Any of my people involved with girls wrestling want to speak to this?

Ms Jenni