does anyone know how this tournament will be run this year in Ottawa. Last year I thought it was a hospital for the psycho parents. You could not see anything because they all sat around the mats. the stands were so crouded you couldnt sit down. I watched at least 4 or 5 moms yell at each other because they couldnt sit down or see. Will there be 2 gyms this year. Also how will the bracketing go down. Will they just be drawn out of a hat and written down or will the records they have be decided. I know its only a 6 and under but hey if you want the 6 and under lets run it at the highest level and nobody complains. ok complains that much. I just noticed several brackets last year that alot of the top kids were in the same side of the bracket. Yes I know its almost impossible to seed a 64 man bracket. But if you ask for records and what the kids finished at each tournament that would help you alot.

The last I heard is that they were going to run two gyms to hold down the congestion.

It looked like to me that they tried to seperate the top 4 kids in each bracket. I'm not saying that some didn't sneak by, but I thought for the most part the seeding was pretty good.

To help with congestion and the time factor this year we will utilize both gyms. The championship march will be the same and plaques are given to 1st through 6th place. Bracketing is based on how a club enters their wrestler, based on a rating of 1-10...10 being the best. Yes, it is difficult to bracket a 64-man bracket based on a simple number but it does help us in trying to bracket the kids fairly. As with any tournament, someone will always complain and give advice on how to run it efficiently and we have taken into account several of your requests this yr. and hope that our Ks. 6&under State Championship runs smooth. Any other questions feel free to ask. Look forward to seeing everyone in Ottawa on March 16.

Thank you,
Renee' Carver
Ottawa Mat Masters
President

are you going to do what beeson did at the ark city tournament. stop wrestling until all parents get away from the mat. the kids need a place to warm up and i really thought beeson did a good job at his tournament in doing that.

after the info given to me about weigh-in for the Topeks tourny and the conflicts with ditrict weigh-in, I think there will be alot of the top quality 6&u at Ottawa. The main reason from what I have been told is that since the state of Ks wrestling board will not acknowledge 6&u every 6&u kid who qualifies for districts has to weigh-in at their respective districts with no weight allowance. That means kids in D1 has to make weight twice on Friday. Once in the morning for the 6&u tourny and then again for the district tourny. Kids from other districts have to make weight then travekl back and make weight their. Let the state know how we feel about the 6&u situation. We have to pay for "sanctioning" cards and 6&u tournies have to pay a "sanctioning" fee both to the State but the state says 6&u doesn't exsist. Talk about a "cash cow".
Please someone from the State kids association explain to me how we pay all the money for the 6&u division and they are not recognized.

The Executive Council has placed the Six and Under issue on the agenda for the annual State Body meeting on several occasions.

The State Body, exercising their right to vote, turned down the motion to add the Six and Under division.

So is it then the "state" exercising their right to collect "sanctioning" fees from all these 6&u? If the "state" is exercising their right to deny them existance with the rest, then they should not make any money from this group.

How much was the sanctioning fee?

Do you feel like you got that amount of value or more out of the experience? Did your child receive volunteer coaching and the opportunity to learn about wrestling? Did they have the opportunity to compete on a weekly basis and learn about sportsmanship and how to win and lose with dignity? Did he or she learn to compete and be part of a team?

Everyone gets the value from the sanctioning fee, guaranteed.

The state tournament is self sufficient and gets its money from the entry fees, gate fees, concessions and sponsors. None of the sanction fees go to support it.

but that doesnt explain why 6 and under doesnt get to continue just like everyone else that is 8 and up. They all go through the same thing, practice, volunteer coaching, etc. Now why are we paying the same but not getting a chance to be with them at the state tournament. I want you to explain that to all 10 of my 6 and under kids. They all have brothers at 8 and under. While the brother gets to go to the big dance they have to sit and watch or go to Ottawa on a Sunday. I really feel sorry for all those kids on the west side of Kansas who have to travel all the way to Ottawa on a Sunday, drive back home and go to school or work on Monday.

its a matter of where the money is going. if the 6&u kids are not recognized by the executive board the they shouldn't have to pay the fees. the 6&u kids can get all the experince they need by attending tourny's like they do now. I think it is funny that the 6&u wrestlers bring over $55,000 and the executive board say thx for your money but you are not a part of the state of kansas wrestling federation. The state needs to accept the 6&u as part since they sanction 6&u tourny's the is they dont want to allow 6&u at the state tourny then so be it. If they recognized 6&u then the 6&u could use the rules set forth for the state wrestling, but as of right now they are held to different rules since the 6&u are not recognized.

Please understand that the "State" is collectively my kids club, your kids club and all the other kids clubs. When Richard says the state body voted this down, he means that all the clubs got together and that is what they decided to do. There are reasons why the clubs feel it is best not to have 6 and under wrestlers at state, but they do not include money.

then why make them pay the same fees

Because the fees have nothing to do with the state tournament, or state qualifying tournaments. A lot of the fees go to the national organization and insurance and just the expense of maintaining the organization. Actually, the younger kids get more bang for their buck than the older ones as they are ineligible to do kids club wrestling during the jr high or high school seasons.

The "executive board" is not the ones keeping 6 & under out of the State tourney! As stated by the "jammer" it is the State Body!! And as stated by Mr. Salyer, it has been voted on many times at the State Body meeting!

I would dis-agree with the bang for a buck. Those older kids get to wrestle for a school that fees do not apply. All alot of us are saying is the 6 and unders are getting ripped by paying the fees and not able to compete at a state tournament. Dont know why it needs to be voted on if they are paying the exact same thing as the older kids. They are practicing, wrestling, putting on the singlets just like the older kids are doing and not getting the same at the end. What is there to vote about. Either they are a group just like everyone else or they are not. If they are not then why apply any fees at all.

i glad to see that someone is getting the picture. what i am upset about is that if my 6&u wrestles in the Topeka tourny a "state sanctioned" event that is requiring "state wrestling cards" that they should be given at the very least the one pound weight allowance given for wrestling consective days that are requiring weigh-ins. But I was told "NO" they have to make scratch weight both times and in some cases 2 different locations cause the state does not recognize 6&u.

The consecutive days weight allowance is a high school rule that applies when you have to weigh in twice over two days. Kids club tournaments never weigh in twice. Once you make weight one time, you are done. No division of kids club gets a pound allowance in the qualifiers or state tournament. If you are worried about a pound allowance at 6 and under, I'd suggest you move up a weight so as to avoid the 7 year old burnout syndrome.

i let my kids choose what weight they want to be at. as for the allowance if you are wrestling in 2 different tourny's then you have to make weight for both. the state kids rules do not address this issue, therefore as stated in the ruled book you have to refer to the high school. which in high school if your wrestling on consective days you get a 1 pound allowance for the second day.

Rule 4-5-5
There shall be no weight allowances given, unless otherwise allowed by the tournament director

It is addressed, it is just addressed differently than the high school rules.