Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Tournament Competition Formatsfor
Northern Virginia Wrestling Federation
Compiled by Bill Marck
May 1, 2020
Objectives of this Material
1. Seek inputs and opinions from VHSL referees located in the northern VA area regarding competition formats presented by the Northern Virginia Wrestling Federation (NVWF)
2. Seek VHSL willingness to provide adult referees (for hire) in support of NVWF youth competition tournaments where possible, especially when using HS regulation size mats comprised of a 28-foot circle diameter and 5-foot safety buffer between mats and floor
3. Seek VHSL willingness to provide adult referees (for hire) in support of NVWF youth competition tournaments when using custom size circles with diameters between 20-24 feet (whereby the 24-foot diameter is favored since it covers across four 6-foot section mats)
4. Seek VHSL inputs and opinions regarding when and how youth tournaments may allow mat circles to be abut one another without buffers in between mats (as seen at VAWA States)
5. Seek VHSL willingness to support youth tournaments as the lead or head referee(s) in charge of high school age wrestlers serving as referees of matches (as a mentor-protégé structure) especially if there was a desire to have adult referees on the larger mats while the high school age referees were governing the custom youth mats
6. In short, seek VHSL willingness to be hired in a variety of capacities including: (a) full time at all events, (b) select events during the season, (c) as the sole “adult” referee staff for events, (d) as the lead-mentor to oversee and guide high school referees as mentor-protégé
Background
• Northern Virginia Wrestling Federation (NVWF) is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation registered in the State of Virginia established for the purpose of organizing youth wrestling tournaments in the northern Virginia area. NVWF has been in existence since the 1960’s. Participating counties and areas include: Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Fauquier, Arlington, Alexandria, Culpeper, Stafford, King George, and Orange.
• NVWF is comprised of 30+ clubs involving 1500 wrestlers (give or take over the past years) sanctioned under USA Wrestling, and additionally partnered with the Virginia Wrestling Association (VAWA).
• Although NVWF has been mostly comprised of novice wrestlers (both elementary and middle school age). Club managers and parents expressed desires for development opportunities for middle school and advanced wrestlers largely.
• The league is pursuing a structure for family and club convenience so to (a) meet requirements and expectations within the current league, and (b) address league attrition by kids with multiple years of experience. The Capitol Area Wrestling League (CAWL) ceased operations leaving few other alternatives for advanced wrestlers.
Background (cont.)
• Traditionally, NVWF uses high school locations on Sundays after which large high school tournaments have three or more mats available – most high schools are limited to two mats on hand and generally place orders for more mats when hosting large HS tournaments.
• Clubs have found it difficult to get prompt or clear information from local high schools regarding dates where three or more mats are available for home events.
• Club managers and parents have expressed desires for opportunities to wrestle on larger mats with more space to learn tactics and strategies in preparation for high school.
• As a result, the NVWF Board of Directors and Executive Officers established a committee to evaluate potential formats for tournament layouts, costs for obtaining mats, costs for storing, transporting, and moving mats for tournaments, and measurements to determine how many wrestlers could be processed at tournament locations.
• Additionally criteria needed to be evaluated such as costs to parents for adopting the big mat style of wrestling, and potential logistics impacts (such as additional time to move mats, carry them to outside trailers, or time in the gym due to limited stations) that would otherwise affect the convenience that NVWF parents traditionally enjoyed.
• In any case, NVWF is pursuing an evaluation to determine how many mats can be placed in a gym, mat designs that will allow for the greatest number of circles to be available while being acceptable for the needs of referees, parents, and clubs.
General Format Description for NVWF Tournaments
• NVWF tournaments typically are held on Sundays in December, January, and February
• NVWF tournaments typically start at 9:30 AM, transition from one age division to the next in order, with a 30-minute warmup period in between each age division
• Tournaments typically end between 4:30-5:00 PM (followed by a cleanup period)
• Bantams and Midgets are traditionally combined during the same session at the beginning
• 60-second periods for Bantams, Midgets, Juniors
• 90-second periods for Intermediates and Seniors
• Overtime typically is one 60-second sudden death period followed by a 3-second ride-out
• Round robin pairing process produces three matches for each wrestler using either a 4-man or 6-man grouping
• NVWF is evaluating a format comprised of two high school 28-foot regulation size mats plus four custom size youth mats using either 20 or 24-foot circles. In cases where either NVWF or a high schools provide a third regulation size mat then that would be used too.
• Although NVWF currently uses eight “station” in a gym, the new layout would involve seven mats arranged in one of several patterns in a large gym. Buffer mats would be placed between mats when extra large gyms are available, otherwise the circles would be abut one another as seen at VAWA States and other tournaments in the area.
Proposed LayoutsSeen in next few Charts
• The next several charts show potential layouts for NVWF youth tournaments.
• Layouts 1A, 2A, and 3A have variations on the theme denoted as B and C in another presentation, however, they were not presented here so to simply the brief.
• Layouts 1A and 2A are estimated to easily fit within some of the newer Loudoun County gyms being build as such schools as Lightridge, John Champe, Freedom, Heritage, Independence, and Rock Ridge.
• Layout 1A potentially could be used pending measurements planned post-COVID19. Layout 1A with a large isle down the center could be accomplished when bleachers on both sides of the gym are only 50% open.
• Buffers would be additionally used between mats at extra large schools such as Lake Braddock, West Springfield, Robinson, Hayfield, and more.
• The “HS” shows the use of high school mats generally available at all schools.
• The “NVWF” shows large size mat purchased by NVWF to complement HS mats which also may be used by partnering high schools for their own tournaments.
• The smaller custom sized mats would be purchased by NVWF.
5 30 6
7
W
A
L
L
Front Bleachers – 50% Open
W
A
L
L
Hal
lway
Ou
t D
oo
rs
5
On
e 6
-fo
ot
mat
sec
tio
n b
uff
er
Layout #1A – Details – Preferred Option Pending Available Space
Doors to Hall Doors to Hall
Rear Bleachers – 50% OpenW
A
L
L
W
A
L
L
Do
ors
to
Hal
l
Ensure enough walkway space for spectators
Ensure enough walkway space for spectators
~ 12’
5 30 6
8
W
A
L
L
Front Bleachers – 50% Open
W
A
L
L
Hal
lway
Ou
t D
oo
rs
5
114
On
e 6
-fo
ot
mat
sec
tio
n b
uff
er
Layout #2A - Details
Doors to Hall Doors to Hall
Rear Bleachers – 50% OpenW
A
L
L
W
A
L
L
124
Do
ors
to
Hal
l
~ 8
~ 8
5 30 6
9
W
A
L
L
Front Bleachers – 50% Open
W
A
L
L
Hal
lway
Ou
t D
oo
rs
5
On
e 6
-fo
ot
mat
sec
tio
n b
uff
er
Layout #3A - Details
Doors to Hall Doors to Hall
Rear Bleachers – 50% OpenW
A
L
L
W
A
L
L
Do
ors
to
Hal
l
~ 8
~ 6’
~ 8
10
Print Both Size Circles (20 and 24-foot) on Mats
1020-foot circles allow 4 feet of separation when buffers are unavailable
Notice that you can place a buffer mat in between the circles if desired or if space allowed
Conclusions• Readers are encouraged to review supporting materials attached.
• This briefing will be presented to NVWF Board of Directors pending review by our northern VA VHSL representatives.
• Potential purchase orders would be placed for mats pending NVWF BOD meeting and vote.
• Preliminary conversations lead us to believe the following:
– Gyms are large enough to have seven mats with buffers and walkways between the mats and the walls or hard floors.
– Referees can conduct matches and prevent wrestlers bumping into adjacent matches on adjoining circles when buffers are absent?
– Bleachers can be open 50% on both sides of the gyms in most schools (pending confirmations by each particular school)
• Point of contact(s) for this material: – Bill Marck, 571-338-5669 cell/evening, [email protected]
Supporting Materials
NVWF Holiday Open Tournament – December 2018
13
• VHSL adult referees were hired to support this tournament for NVWF in December 2018
• This was an open individual style event for any youth in the VA, MD, WV, PA area to enter
NVWF Holiday Open Tournament – December 2018
14• Narrow wood floor space for score tables and referees
NVWF Holiday Open Tournament – December 2018
15• Greg Jenkins (center), former NVWF Board Member, also a VHSL paid referee
• Three of the closest mats plus the far green mats are abut without a buffer in between
• Whereas the far mat (green-yellow) have a green buffer
VAWA State Championships in February 2019
16
VAWA State Championships in February 2019
17
18
Winchester Round Robin November 2017
Summary
• NVWF is evaluating – Improvements of wrestling quality for its members, families, and clubs
–Ways to encourage greater retention (addressing attrition rates) for wrestlers in middle school
–Opportunities to attract more wrestlers to the sport
–Methods to better prepare middle school kids for high school
• NVWF is seeking inputs and involvement from VHSL referees
• NVWF is conducting studies to determine an optimum balanced approach to design mat layouts to process large volumes of wrestlers without burdening volunteer parents and coaches in terms of: –Costs or time to purchase equipment
– Setup/prepare for tournaments
– Staying in the gym too long
Mat Circle Size Option Comparisons
High School Sizes• 30-foot typically used to cover entirely over five 6-foot sections
• 28-foot minimum national requirement
• Both have two additional 6-foot buffer mats
Options Considered for Youth Events• Using fewer 6-foot sections
• 24-foot circles
• 22-foot circles
• 20-foot circles
20
Key Points
• There is nothing written by USA Wrestling, VHSL, or NFHS regarding a minimum requirement for youth circles.
• Adult referees are willing to referee youth matches if minimum HS requirements are applied for circle size and safety edge buffers
• USA Wrestling has continued to support NVWF League charters using the traditional mat layout format with no circles visible
21
Circle Size Comparisons – Across Seven 6-foot Mat Sections
30 28 242220
6
Youth EventCustom Mat Circle Size Option Comparisons
With Circles Across Four 6-foot Sections
With Variable Buffer Sizes
• Example, 24-foot circles would be abut w/o space between circles
• 20’ or 22’ circles would have 2-4 foot separation between circles
• Separate buffer mat sections could be placed in between circles
22
Key Points• This approach assumes smaller custom sized youth mats would be used entirely or
used to complement available high school sized mats on site• The 24-foot circle size is preferred, however, circles are abut without buffers. To
mitigate, both 20 and 24 foot circles could be printed on the mats with different colors for either situation.
23
Overlay of Circles on 6-foot Sections – Across Four 6-foot Mat Sections
This version allows VARIABLE buffer separation between circles as desired
Notice that you can place a buffer mat in between the circles if desired or if space allowed
24
Overlay of Circles on 6-foot Sections – Across Four 6-foot Mat Sections
20-foot circles allow 4 feet of separation when buffers are unavailable
Notice that you can place a buffer mat in between the circles if desired or if space allowed
Alternative Layout Options
Potentially Useful for Smaller Gyms
25
Key Points• This approach squeezes tables in discrete locations
Rear Bleachers – Closed
30
5
124
9
26
Showing How to use Three HS Mats along with Custom Youth Mats
W
A
L
L
Front Bleachers – Fully Open
W
A
L
L
W
A
L
L
Hal
lway
Ou
t D
oo
rs
5
5
5
Nineteen 6-foot mat sections
On
e 6
-fo
ot
mat
sec
tio
n b
uff
er
114
6
40
Rear Bleachers – Closed
30
5
124
9
27
Showing How to use Three HS Mats along with Custom Youth Mats
W
A
L
L
Front Bleachers – Fully Open
W
A
L
L
W
A
L
L
Hal
lway
Ou
t D
oo
rs
5
5
5
Nineteen 6-foot mat sections
On
e 6
-fo
ot
mat
sec
tio
n b
uff
er
114
6
40
Types of Mats - Resilite
Available Products, Features, and Accessories
28
Classic mats are the traditional thick foam mats typically obtained in three heavy sections
29
Definitions on Mat Types
Light weight mats (Resilite calls them Liteweight) typically obtained in 7-sections
