These referees at the regional and state tournaments are not there just because their schedule was open that weekend. They have all passed the rules test, attended the rules meeting and two area supervisors meetings, and have been recommended by schools they have officiated for, area officials supervisors, and league commissioners. In other words, these guys are the cream of the crop. I was at the 321A tourn. in Hays, and I feel that they ALL did a great job. I will tell you what I tell everyone else that complains about wrestling officials: If you honestly feel that you could do a better job, then do it! Anyone can be an official. All you have to do is sign up, pay the fees, take the test, attend all three meetings, contact school and league personnel, and officiate some duals and tournaments. After you've done that for a few years, all you need to do is officiate well enough to impress your supervisor, A.D.'s, and league commissioners (without soliciting recommendations from them). Easy enough, right? I've never officiated a state tournament, but I can't imagine the pressure that these men are under.

With that said, let me get specific. Haag (not Heg) and Fredrickson are two of the best that I've seen. These guys have both been there before, and if I'm not mistaken Haag is or was an NCAA offical. You don't get there by doing a poor job. What most fans don't realize is that wrestling officiating is way tougher than any other sport, because much of the match is called using your judgement. The rules aren't exactly cut and dried. Much of the scoring is based on control, and sometimes control is very hard to determine. Stalling is always controversial, but it has to be called when one or both wrestlers are not working to better their position. The wrestlers know that by the time they get to state, they better go hard for 6 minutes. Fleeing the mat has been in the rules book for years, but Kansas officials were given a reminder this year to call it more consistently. The coaches were at this meeting too, so they should have prepared their wrestlers for a stricter use of this rule. These two rules are designed to give the aggressive wrestler the edge against someone who never works to improve their position, or goes for the edge of the mat when they get in trouble, thus providing for a more exciting, action-packed match.

You can say what you want about the officials, but their perspective on the mat is much different than what you have in the stands. If you would like to be a wrestling official, please go to the KSHSAA web site to find out how to become one. We really could use a few more people with wrestling experience out there on the mat. Congratulations to all the officials at the state tourn. in Hays. I'm proud to be associated with you guys, and I hope to be working with you in Hays sometime in the future.
P.S. I was NOT an official at this tourney, just a spectator. Sorry if I mislead any of you.

Brett Waggoner
KSHSAA Wr. Off. #9734
(and a life-long wrestling fan, too)