I suspect this wasn't a surprise to most, but today USA Wrestling made it official with an announcement that the 2020 Junior/Cadet Nationals (or simply "Fargo" to many of us) will be cancelled.

As the premier age-group event for USA Wrestling, there were multiple efforts to find a way to retain the event, but in the end it couldn't overcome the factors weighing against it. There was a projected lack of participation, with some states stating they would not attend, and those that were open to sending a team expecting a significant reduction in athletes they would send. In the last week North Dakota State University informed USAW that their dorms would not be available until after July (the dorms are heavily used by many teams, including Kansas). And finally, there was concern over sending athletes to the most competitive tournament of the year with insufficient opportunities to prepare themselves for the competition.

Currently our state is a patchwork of restrictions, with each county establishing it’s own guidelines. The rules should be followed in deciding when it is safe to begin practicing. When restrictions are lifted, take a measured approach in returning to practice to make sure everyone is physically prepared before increasing the intensity in the room.

USA Wrestling has released guidelines for returning to the mat, which you can see here. Refer to those guidelines in determining when your club and region are ready to start back on the mat.

Wrestlers are a tough bunch and are accustomed to handling challenges. This is a new one but I’m confident that we’ll come through this and will be back wrestling soon.

Yours in wrestling,
Mike Juby