working on my letter to ne...not sure if it will help, but can't hurt...any constructive input is welcome
New England Wrestling Tournament
1. Elimination of “piggy back” method of advancement in favor of a standard double-elimination format: Currently, there are 22 wrestlers in each weight class. With the “piggy back” approach, there are 31 bouts per weight class. With a 24 man bracket, double elimination, there would be 44 bouts per weight class. This would prevent medal-caliber wrestlers from getting eliminated in the first round, as well as getting rid of the unfortunate scenario of having to root for the wrestler that just beat you to win his next match.
2. Expansion of bracket from 22 to 24 wrestlers: In a 32 man bracket, with 24 wrestlers, all 8 first round losers receive byes. Therefore, there is very little impact (4 bouts per weight) in expanding to 24 wrestlers. Massachusetts has long argued (and rightfully so) that based on the number of teams and wrestlers, they should be able to bring more than 6 wrestlers per weight. By adding the 7th place Mass and 5th place CT wrestlers, two things are achieved. First, it is not uncommon for the 5th place finisher in a tourney to have not faced the 4th, someone he could have perhaps beaten (the same holds true regarding 7th and 6th). Second, it places greater importance on that final match of the previous week (for 7th in MA or 5th in CT, since if you win, you would then advance). There can be no support for reducing the number of qualifiers from other states from their current three, as the same logic holds true, in that a 3rd could simply have not faced a 2nd due to seeding and brackets.
3. Reduction of the 3 hour break: This type of break does not exist at other events (such as the indoor track championship) and is not necessary. In the early years of the event, there were numerous inductees into the Hall of Fame. At this time, there are few new inductions, and honoring them before the finals is perhaps the best place to do so. This would allow for the event to maintain a comparable time schedule.
4. Separation of returning NE placewinners in bracket: While it is impossible to please everyone by seeding this event, as there are few common opponents across state lines, it would be fairly simple to SEPARATE those returning NE medalists who are state champs (as there are only 6 state champs), as well as any state champion who has defeated a returning medalist state champ from another state. There were numerous instances where multiple returning placewinners all fell on the same half of the bracket. It would take 6 simple brackets that would allow for separation of up to 4 returning medalists, while also maintaining separation of the top finishers from each state.
5. Weigh-ins on Saturday: Current NFHS rules require weigh-ins on each day of competition, and these kids are used to it at all state and even national events. It is inconsistent for New Englands to not have weigh-ins on the second day. In addition, it would be more equitable if all six participating states following NFHS rules regarding weight certification. Without these rules in place, there is very little preventing wrestlers from competing at a significant weight advantage on Saturday.
6. Suitable Venue: While it is desirable to rotate among the states, it is more essential to have a suitable location. Indoor track is held every year at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. Although it would be nice to have a central location, certain requirements must be met. These include the ability to hold 7-8 mats, seating, parking and viewing ability.
7. New England Cup: A competition among the states could be scored with the top 3 from each state (as each state has at least 3), or perhaps the top scorer for each state in each weight class (meaning only 1 wrestler could score for each state in any wt)
8. Score to 8 places: If attempting to make the team title more of a team event, consider scoring to 8 places. It adds only 1 match per weight class.
Seeding Grid to Separate Returning NE Placwinners (can split up to 4 into the 4 quarter brackets)
**not concerned about seeding, just splitting
Ex: If the VT champ and the RI champ are returning placers, and the MA champ has beaten the RI champ, then those three need to be split. In this case, you would use either bracket A, B, C, D—but not E or F.
Seed A B C D E F
1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1 MA1
8 CT2 CT2 CT2 CT2 CT2 CT2
5 VT1 ME1 VT1 NH1 VT1 ME1
4 NH1 RI1 ME1 RI1 RI1 NH1
3 ME1 VT1 NH1 VT1 ME1 VT1
6 RI1 NH1 RI1 ME1 NH1 RI1
7 MA2 MA2 MA2 MA2 MA2 MA2
2 CT1 CT1 CT1 CT1 CT1 CT1
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I am not going to get in to the weeds on this, I will say though that this is EXACTLY the type of discussion we should be having. All outstanding ideas and well thought out. A quick read reviles this is a well researched and well documented argument and while there may be minor disagreements o small points, I would urge people to give only constructive input, then we may actually see vast improvements next year.
My only question is will the powers that be get behind ideas such as this and work towards a goal of improving States for the wrestlers and their families.
Great Job DNOWA!!!
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I like your ideas Nowa. One thing for weigh ins I would like to see is one weigh in at the Open/All State for all states and New Englands. At this point in the season the wrestlers are all at their respective weight classes and weighing twice makes absolutely no sense, other than following a rule. There is no advantage or disadvantage at this point in the season. I would say that all competitors would agree 100% with one weigh in for these two events.
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Dave add to the line about the venue; the concern for the safety of the wrestler due to an inadequate facility. I saw several wrestlers get thrown to the hard floor or into "spectators" sitting on the edge of the mats because there was no where else for them to watch their guy compete. And, how about giving the wrestlers a place to warm-up prior to their match? And it would be nice, as a coach, to be able to talk to an athlete before and after his match without being screamed at by every fan, ref, and staff about standing in the wrong place. Where was the right place to stand in Lowell? That tournament was the first time I have ever had to coach a kid in the stands.
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yea i agree the fans were extremely disrespectful to many of the wrestlers. Wrestlers were warming up on deck and had about 30 seconds before their match, and fans behind them were giving them crap about standing up. When I was getting warmed up for my matches I started out in one of the corners of the place but you couldnt really see what was going on and when you were supposed to step onto the mat.
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