Smokey,

I agree with your position. I would argue that one of the reasons you see more numbers on the smaller kids side during the summer is because the bigger kids are training for football. They have that option.....the little guys don't, therefore they are more likely to wrestle during the summer.

I personally think we need to keep the weights the same at the lower end and possibly look to add a weight in the heavier end. JMO.

i think there should be a weigh class between 215 and 285 like 245 or 250. My senior year I cut 40 or 45 pounds to wrestle 215 and to let another senior wreslte hwt

My scheme adds only one weight class to the current 14 classes.

The intent of such a restructure of the classes was to try to even out the percentage differientials
betewwen classes. Why continue to have the 3 to 5 percent differientials for 125 throught 152 classes, and then jump to 10% climbing to to 32% for the higher brackets.

Agree that only oen new bracket between 215 and 285 would be a tremendous improvement--but still think two brackets are better yet for the sport--get the footballers back into the sport.

With obesity becoming more widespread among teens and tweens, I believe we need more upper weight classes to accomodate these kids. I bet we've all had a good 215lber that somehow over the summer put on 25lbs. If he put on 25lbs the right way, then he'd be in great shape to wrestle heavyweight, weighing 240. But, now you realize that he's going to have to lose that weight to get to 215 or give up some strength and weight to the heavier guys. That's just not right, and I bet the football coach would agree.

Not doing it to accomodate obese kids. Doing it so slightly heavy kids for a weight bracket might be motivated to lose/cut some weight, get in shape, and wrestle!!

Don't raise 103. I do not care if they add a weight between 215 and heavy - but I do not think the number of kids participatiing in wrestling supports adding 3 weights over 200. Not a bad idea. But most teams will then have opens at 245 and/or heavy. Larger schools will benifit from the addition of another weight just because off numbers. This would have a bigger impact in duals. I do not think it would have as big of an effect on regular bracketed tournaments with 24 to 32 teams and team scoring.


shawnbudke
Member

Registered: 03/21/05
Posts: 239
Loc: Leavenworth, KS Smokey,

I agree with your position. I would argue that one of the reasons you see more numbers on the smaller kids side during the summer is because the bigger kids are training for football. They have that option.....the little guys don't, therefore they are more likely to wrestle during the summer.

I personally think we need to keep the weights the same at the lower end and possibly look to add a weight in the heavier end. JMO.

14 weights are plenty. Tournaments and duals last long enough. Need to keep the little guys in the sport. There are other sports where being big is anadvantage. Football and basketball... Those sports are not changing to accomadate small kids. Most of the havier weight (215 & 285) mathches are boring to watch. They just push each other around and score 1 to 3 points during the 6 minutes. At 321A state this weekend most of the fans were gone by the time the 285 lbers started and it was an very good 285 lb mattch to watch. If someone really thinks it is necessary to add a weight for bigger kids then they need to do away with some of the weights between 125 and 145. Should not have a weight class every 5 lbs...7 lbs gaps at those weights are about right.

14 weight classes seem to be holy and locked in concrete for many ex wrestlers, coaches.

A weight scheme I posted earlier was 15 weights but it also made bigger weight differientials at those congested 125 to 145 classe. Used a standard 6% increase between classes. One, two and three lb increase at the lower weights were used to make a the 15th weight class. Can't see that such a scheme can do anything but improve wrestling in all brackets, but especially at the heavier weights. Especially need to breakup that 70 pound differiential between 215 and 285.