Same here on the discussion for Sunday. Where are the Proponents for supporting the 6 & U state? Are we attempting to eliminate Ottawa's 6 & U State stronghold?
Altogether this should be within the Novice umbrella as these wrestlers are Novice falling into < 2 years of experience. Then again our low wt's in 8 and under (4o# or so) when the class's top weight is 125#. I would be interested in knowng how many 7 & 8 year olds truly weigh 40 lbs and is this class filled primarily of 6 & U's?
Let me be the first but I am guessing there are over 2,000 others who are right behind me. First off I really don't want to make this about Ottawa. Rick has done a fine job running an unofficial but sanctioned event. However, that event in itself became problematic. The brackets were too big, the travel was lengthy, and it is too late in the season.
The proposal is to have District tournaments conducted on the Sunday after HS regionals. The top four from the four districts will qualify for state in Salina the following weekend which is the Sunday after 4A State. This will be a USAWKS Kansas Kids State Tournament. The qualifying will be standardized and the age division will be defined just as the other recognized groups who will be wrestling later in March. This will end the season for 6U wrestlers in February. It will limit the brackets to 16. The event will be in a large arena instead of a high school. The awards and brackets will be the same as the other age divisions wrestled in Topeka. The drive will be four hours or less for ANYONE who lives in Kansas. It will end at a decent hour allowing these kids to be home and in bed for school the next day.
The 6U group CANNOT be added to the existing event. The existing event is already too large for the arena and city it is held in. (We run out of quality hotel rooms every year, wrestling on partial mats for 8U, 10U, and 12U is just not good!) The Pros FAR outweigh the cons.
I hope that everyone will JUST SAY YES and make this happen for the 2,000 plus 6U wrestlers we have buying USA Wrestling Cards. I don't have a 6U wrestler but I will be there to help and see the smiles on their faces!
