I don't believe you can put a specific time limit on novice. It is up to the coaches in the kids programs to decide if it is time for a kid to be moved up to advanced. In years past I have seen kids get moved up to advanced halfway through the year, and we have also had kids that stay in novice for 3 years. It is definitely not right to move a kid that is having problems in advanced back down to novice for some wins and to boost confidence, boost their confidence in your own room! I have always thought it helps a kid out to get moved up into advanced, they might lose more matches, but they will improve faster. Everyone knows that you can move a 4,5, or 6 year old, 37-44 pounder into advanced and they will be wrestling mostly novice kids anyway. Its also easier to leave kids in the slower moving novice practice for them to get the basics drilled into them, and enter them in advanced tournaments, you don't have to move them out of your novice practice just because they are in advanced tournaments. Good luck putting a definition on novice, we have tried to do this for years, and it hasn't happened yet. Get all the board members on the same page first, some of them don't understand novice!