Washington Little Guy wrestling tournaments provide a competitive and exciting environment for young wrestlers. Understanding the rules and procedures is crucial for both participants and their families. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know.
A wrestling match in progress.
Tournament Structure
Each tournament may vary slightly due to the autonomy given to clubs by the league, but they generally follow a familiar pattern. Tournaments typically host between 300 and 600 participants, drawing a large crowd of parents and family members. Be prepared for full and loud venues.
The year-end Jason Crawford Memorial Tournament in Spokane is a major event, attracting over 3000 participants.
A large wrestling tournament.
Read also: Wrestling Clubs in Washington D.C.
At each tournament, including ours, every club is expected to provide workers to man a scorer’s table. You will be expected to participate and help with this task so that some parents don’t have to spend the whole day, every week working a table.
Mandatory Gear
Ensure your wrestler is equipped with the following mandatory gear:
- Headgear
- Singlets
- Wrestling shoes
If wearing braces on their teeth you must have some form of protection on them (top and bottom), all long hair (male or female) will be worn under a WIAA approved cap, fingernails must be short and trimmed.
Registration & Weigh-Ins
Wrestler weigh-ins begin at 7:00 AM and end promptly at 9:00 AM. Plan to arrive sometime during that two-hour period. The later you arrive the longer the lines. The gym also fills up as wrestlers arrive. Our club will have an area that we will try and reserve, but we have to have bodies to fill the seats. Upon arrival you will find the registration table. They will check in your wrestler and take your entrance fee. Sometime s a wrestler's name doesn’t appear on the list. When this happens, please contact the coaches immediately. After check in the wrestlers age will be written on their hand and/or shoulder and they will be sent to the weigh ins.
At weigh-ins the fingernails/hair/fungus check occurs and will be rechecked prior to the first match Saturday.
Read also: The Legacy of Washington and Lee Wrestling
Important: Don’t forget you are also required to check in and out with the coaches upon arrival and before leaving.
Взвешивание, необходимая процедура в борьбе.
Bracketing Process
Bracketing takes place Friday and adjustments may be made during the hour after check-ins. Bracketing is when wrestlers are placed in appropriate age and weight groups for competition. Our league mandates that wrestlers cannot compete outside of a 5-pound range our outside their age division without prior authorization.
Match Procedures
Wrestling will start at 10:00 AM each Saturday. Sometimes complications occur and delays happen. Be READY TO WRESTLE at 10AM.
Pairing
When bracketing has been completed the first age group will be called to the pairing room. This is usually the 5/6-year-olds. The announcer will point out where the pairing room is, but if you miss it don’t worry. Just follow the stampede of little bodies. Most of the tournaments allow a parent in the pairing room with the 5/6-year-olds. With the older age groups parents are not normally allowed to accompany them because it becomes too crowded if there are a lot of parents. In the pairing room the wrestlers' names will be called out and they will be “paired” with their opponent for the round.
Staging
The two wrestlers that have been paired will take a bout sheet with their names on it to the staging area. This is normally a section in the bleachers. The wrestlers are moved one pair at a time from the staging area to the announcer’s table and are then taken to a mat.
Read also: Washington Sumo
Matches
Each mat will have a number. Most tournaments will use 10-12 mats. The announcer will announce each wrestler's name, their club, and the number of the mat where they will be wrestling. The wrestlers will then be taken to that mat. The bout sheet is given to the scorekeeper at the table. Typically, a match will already be going on the mat and wrestlers will wait at mat side for their turn.
Two people (coaches) are allowed mat-side per contestant. Matches should not start without a coach present. Reactor coaches try to be on the lookout for our club’s wrestlers. If they are not present when the match starts refuse to begin until one is found. One or both of the wrestlers will be asked to put on a colored ankle band. The wrestlers will shake hands and the referee will begin the match. When points are earned, the referee will hold up a hand indicating the points. The hand that he uses will have a wristband corresponding in color to the color of the ankle band of the wrestler that earned points.
At the scorer’s table score is kept on the bout sheet. There will also be a timekeeper. A score is displayed on the front of the table, but it may not always be up to date. The score that really matters is the one on the bout sheet. The 5-12-year-old wrestlers compete in three 60 second rounds (three 90 second rounds for the 13-14-year-olds wrestlers). The match will end at either the end of three rounds or when one of the wrestlers is pinned or wins by Technical-Fall (more then 15-points). When the match is over the wrestlers will return to the center of the mat to shake hands and the referee will raise the hand of the winner. Each wrestler needs to shake hands with the coach of their opponent. The winner of the match signs the bout sheet and makes sure that his name is circled correctly.
Pairing will generally take place sequentially by age and weight. While one age group is on the mats wrestling, the next group will be headed to the pairing room. This helps to keep things moving with minimal down time.
Washington Little Guy uses a standard double elimination format when possible. Sometimes due to the number of participants your wrestler will be in a round robin tournament. You will generally be guaranteed 2 matches.
Posting Brackets
After the wrestling begins; the brackets for each age group are usually posted on a wall somewhere near the gym. It is important to check the bracket sheets to ensure that the information about the wrestler is correct. Things to look for include the age and weight bracket, spelling of the name and the club. After the first round the bracket sheets need to be checked to ensure that the winners and losers of each match have been recorded correctly. If an error is found, please NOTIFY A COACH so steps can be taken to correct it. It’s best to catch the errors as soon as possible.
Elimination and Placing
Wrestlers are eliminated after two loses. If you are unsure of whether or not your wrestler is done for the day, please check with a coach before leaving.
After all the wrestling has been completed there will be an awards presentation with medals for the top three placers. that have either no loses or one loss will be called. The final round will determine first (gold), second (silver) and third (bronze) and fourth place.
Before Leaving
You must check out with the club for safety and accountability. A typical tournament will be finished at about 4-5 PM.
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