Ottawa Mat Masters will be holding the "KANSAS 6&UNDER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP" on March 23, 2008. This is a tournament founded by Rick Croucher and will remain in Ottawa inevitably. Many concerns and questions have been addressed about this tournament and we have taken notice and plan on several changes. Both gyms at the high school will be utilized to help with congestion and start the parade of champions earlier in the afternoon...allowing those that traveled a great distance to arrive back home at a decent hour. This never has and never will be a "competition" between Croucher and Stanley...they both have the kids' best interests at heart and Ottawa Mat Masters board, coaches and parents wish the Jr. Vikings the best of luck and hope that it will be a great success for them!!! We appreciate all the support, concerns and praise we have received through personal e-mails, phone calls, letters and talk forums. We look forward to an exciting year and I personally can't wait to see everyone in my "wrestling family" again. Good luck tomorrow at the District meeting.

Renee' Carver
Ottawa Mat Masters President

OK, I made a mistake...we will not hold the Ks. 6&under State Championship on March 23...this is Easter...therefore we are tentatively looking at March 16, the day after Subs. We will let you know when this is approved and get it on the schedule. Thanks, Renee'

Poor little guys season just got a whole lot longer. Kind of like boxing, there will be two champs. The belt will have to be unified. Who wants to have the unification duals, I would suggest early April right after Kids State.

Just to clarify...I am joking and don't think there should be a unification dual. Just one 6U State Championship, and my vote is for Ottawa.

OK; here we go again! Why is it when a kid finds something like a cool rock or stick on the playground, a handfull of other kids want it, and try to manipulate other kids to help them get it because it's a cool thing, and they should have it, not the kid that found it. This whole issue of where the 6 & under state tournament should be held, should be over by now. Here in Ottawa we are a small community with community pride. We are not known for very many or large things. But we have found a neat little nitch in our state, and people mention Ottawa in the same breath as 6&under state, despite the arguements we here in Ottawa have great concerns about our states youngest wrestlers as well, that's why we formed this tournament. Yes it has grown, and like anything that grows adjustments are made, and we are making them. Like a child, they grow, we are building a bigger play pin here. Let us have our growing pains and adjust to them. As for a cash cow, why is that even a factor with some, is that what they think this is all about, and should we question those that are using that angle about their intentions? Personnaly I have no more children to wrestle in this tournament, so it has become a community pride thing. In our town of Ottawa, we founded this tournament,we nurtured it, we made our mistakes and corrections here, we are adjusting and growing with it here. And now we are fighting to keep our cool looking rock here. If indeed we loose this event here; you folks that have the largest ball of twine, or the deepest hand dug well, or any other smaller communities that have your pride, better up your defences. These things are special to us for what they are worth, and are worth defending.
Thank you to all that understands and backs our Ottawa community, we will be there for you to!

Ottawa wrestling coach, and Ottawa'n ---- Matt Parenti

I'm a little confused as to just exactly who "stole" this tournament from Ottawa. When this first came up, it was my understanding, maybe wrongly, that it was District 1 as a whole that was moving this tournament to Topeka and thus stealing it from Ottawa. I did not understand how that could happen without a vote of all the district clubs but it would not be the first time something has happened in District 1, that I did not understand. Now it seems as though this tournament has been "stolen" by another club, which to me at least, seems more acceptable. All of us are subject to poaching by other clubs as it pertains to a certain date or type of tournament. To act like this tournament or any other should be above that, is simply silly. It seems I have struck a nerve with my use of the phrase "cash cow", as if that isn't one of the primary considerations for all of us who host tournaments. Without profits we all would be out selling candy bars. If you don't believe that then host an entry free tournament. I say let each of these clubs host their tournament and may the better club win. But please quit whining about it and acting like you should be above the free market system.

Fair enough sportsfan I've got no problem with a free market system. I do have a problem with multiple state championships. Let's just have two more clubs sponsor a 6U state championship and we can be just like the high schools. With more state champions more kids will feel better about themselves for winning. Can't everyone be a winner? The answer is NO! There should only be one 6U State Championship.

I agree, and it should be held in conjunction with the true State Championship. Also, we shouldn't allow any club to use that term "State Tournament" or "State Championship" when referring to any privately run tournament.

I do believe it is sanctioned, you do have to have a USA card ot get in to the tourn.!

Sport-O, I have to agree with you again. With the job Ottawa has done I'm considering them the real deal until the state body steps up. With whats going on...the State needs to Step Up.

Beeson-

The last time that the 6U issue was voted on by the State Body, Rick Croucher and Ottawa lobbied against it. SportO is right on this one...D2 voted as a block to get it approved with a strong D4 majority. D1 and D3 voted heavily to keep our 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 divisions as they are. The issue was and still is complicated; there is not an easy answer to it. Like it or not...moving this event to the Expo is another step in the direction you are looking for. Until State Body support is there to support your cause why not work to improve this event? I also no longer have a dog in the 6U hunt, but this issue has got me stumped. I would be interested to know how the group who are proposing the use of the Expo feel about this greater issue.

Adding qualifying tournament to the mix is also good. The 64plus man brackets look good on paper, but they are killer to get through...especially if you loose the first one.

I would like to see an answer to my question regarding admission being charged at the Expo Center.

The problem with adding 6U to the existing tournament is simple, none of the venues can handle it. We have to think outside of the box and create an event seperate from the existing state tournament. Frankly it is too big for Topeka the way it is today (fractional mats at a state tournament is a joke and a safety issue, shortage of decent, fairly priced, hotel accomodations.) I applaud Rick and Mark for creating events that give MORE opportunities for kids to wrestle but I totally disagree with calling it a STATE tournament until our State Body creates such an event. Over 1800 6U kids purchased cards last year. This tells us two things: 1. There is enough interest to create an event. 2. There definitely needs to be a qualifier to keep the state bracket to 32 kids.

By greater issue I assume you are talking about adding the 6U division to “the” State Championship Series. I will not speak for my entire group. But, the last time this issue was debated by the State Body, I personally supported adding the 6U Division to the State Championship Series. That being said, I understand all of the difficulties that it would cause and my opinion could be swayed by the feasibility of this issue. I think there is no doubt that this Division disserves their chance to wrestle on the big stage. That is the main reason that I jumped at the opportunity to host this event when I found that the Expocentre would be available.

The fact is that 6U State is a divisive issue. Most people are either strongly for or strongly against making room in the State Championship Series for these kids. It has been debated for as long as I can remember. My oldest son is now in the 7th grade and I can remember the issue being argued in his first year; that was nine years ago. I now have a 4 year old who is going to start wrestling this year and unless we continue to look for ways to improve the opportunities for this division then, like it or not, we will be debating this same issue when he becomes a teenager.

Does this event crown a “true” state champion recognized by our organization? The simple answer is no. In my opinion every one of the kids who step on mat are champions, thus the name of the tournament 6U State: Kansas Tournament of Champions. But when these kids walk off the mat in the Expocentre arena after having their arm raised in victory the title they hold will mean something to them and it will mean something to me. A couple years ago wrestling for that title in Ottawa, KS was as close as these kids could get to the feeling. Now they have an option that gets them a little closer to the “real” thing. I hope it will provide the fire in their belly that keeps them in the sport for a long time to come.

We are on the same page when it comes to your two bottom line points.

If you ask me 4 to 6 year olds will feel the same standing on a podium in Ottawa as they will in the expo!! Come on guys some of these kids are still wetting the bed at night, and no matter where they get thier hand raised they will be just as proud!!! They will still have the same title no matter where it is. Rick and the Ottawa club did not vote against 6&u state, why would we do that when we care about this so much. To those of you who support us at Ottawa we appresiate it very much and cant wait to see you at OUR 6&u state!!

RICK
You have done a great job with the 6-under and we look forward to coming back to Ottawa. Olathe Wrestling Club

Rick doesn't talk much on here but he & the club thank you very much!!! Cant wait to see you there.

Obviously something needs to be done to improve our retention of kids who wrestle 6U and never wrestle again. However, this forum is not addressing that issue. I really think that except for a few exceptional 6U's their season should be over sometime in February. Also, most of the time 6U's should never wrestle in anything other than round robins where everyone gets medals. Maybe a few of the big tournaments could be competitive with regular brackets - like Salina for instance. Success makes for enjoyment and will keep them coming back.

The bickering on this forum is not addressing the issue. As has been stated, given the number of 6U card holders, there is a need for a 6U State. And, a qualifier is necessary. Having a 64 man bracket for six year olds and younger isn't about the kids. And, the Expo Center is not big enough to add the 6U's to Kids State. It is hardly big enough now. We already wait 4 or 5 hours between matches and there is not enough room on the floor for all the coaches to where getting coaching passes is a big issue at the end of each season. And, Ottawa does a great job of running tournaments. I have never been to the 6U State they hold, but I know they did not have enough room to do Districts last year. If this is a problem with 6U State, then Stanley may be right.

So, lets actually focus on the kids and how to reward the ones with the maturity to compete at such a level and how to keep the other ones interested in the sport into their 8U and 10U years.

Lets remember sometimes success can cause an event to grow to big to be where it is at. Topeka is probably a good place for a true state event. Maybe it should be rotated so the people in Western Kansas don't always have to drive. Putting it at the Expo Center may just be a good first move to the State taking it over and rotating it every 1 or 2 between each of the districts. I don't think Stanley is trying to steal the tournament. In fact, how do the rights to such a tournament belong to anyone. SO stop fighting and put your energy into making sure we have as many 8U and 10U card holders as we do with the 6U's.

I agree with John to some degree, I don't think the bickering accomplishes much either; but I think the novice tournaments surfice the very beginner, and those boys and girls that are a little more timid with this sport. I think the open tournament format for the 6&unders is ok. I think that decision should be made by parents and coaching staff. As for Qualifying for the 6&under state tournament, I think this could be a good thing. It would be up to communities and clubs to sponser these district wrestle offs sending the top four or six to Ottawa. I do think that the young kids that win that 64 man bracket have one heck of a bracket to frame, and an accomplishment that they could never see again. I saw the young Beeson boy repeat that accomplishment three years in a row, he had to have faced a hundred or more matches without a loss "WOW" Those brackets must be a thing of beauty and pride for a lifetime. Even without a district wrestle off, It works in Ottawa, and if there should be a district wrestle off, the finals would still work in Ottawa!