A narrow view from Steve...

The Novice tournaments are NOT "set up" to give a few open wrestlers more mat time. At each novice tournament you will see a few weights that the winner should be in the open division. The other 90% of the weights are rightly novice wrestlers. It is certainly not a perfect system. We are right to correct those who abuse the system, but being cynical across the board is a weak position that profits nobody. To say "welcome to Kansas", misses the point entirely. Many top states have only one division. As a Kid's division coach, I can assure you that if a Dad insisted on his open level kid wrestling novice, he wouldn't enter under my club.