Suggested Requirements
for Hosting Local (Maryland) FS/GR Tournaments

Bruce Gabrielson
Southern Maryland Wrestling Club
Fall 1995

Equipment Requirements

Three setups. About 80 entries are needed to justify 3 mats.

Each setup consists of a mat, a table with 4 chairs, a scoring flip chart or electronic scoring panel, 2 timing clocks, a small lined trash container (for blood waist), a roll of paper towels, pencils, a chair across from the table for the mat judge, and a spray bottle with disinfectant. Cheap stop watches are acceptable.

A PA system with an isolated staging area is necessary to pass out/receive bout sheets.

At least two large tables in a limited access area are required for pairing. We usually block off an area of the gym with tables. The PA system must be close to this area.

A wall away from the mats and masking tape to post brackets. A pair of scissors and a pencil sharpener is also needed.

A nice addition is a copier to make additional scoring sheets or bracket sheets if needed plus copies of posted brackets. Some schools provide access to the school copier. This also insures you won't run out of bout sheets.

People Requirements

Two people per setup to time and handle scoring (best to get team members and parents). For Freestyle or Grec-Roman, both AAU and USAW usually want three mat officials per mat, with at least one a level II or higher. The use of two officials is not recommended on a mat, but they can handle a mat if one is at least a Level I.

Head Official (Level I)

Head Pairer (Level I preferred)

Two additional people to help pair, at least one of which should be a Level II for events with over 70 entries.

Local AAU/USAW organizations usually have the requisite officials. In addition, local tournaments are often used as training events and will normally draw several new officials.

A Tournament Director and an Announcer (could be same person but not recommended). Sometimes the director is also the Head Official, but this becomes complicated at larger events.

Workers to sell refreshments, charge admission (if necessary), help take entries (around $10 each), and to weigh contestants in. Championship events usually require an official to be present at weigh-ins. If you charge an admission, don't charge over $1 for adults unless you're putting on a major event.

Cost/Budget Notes:

The AAU sanction cost $50 provided the sanctioning club is also an AAU member club. USAW sanctioning is also $50 when the club is a USAW club. For a youth only AAU event, the sanctioning cost is $25. Medal awards cost about $2.50 each or higher depending of quality. AAU Association Championships and above have medal sets available for $1 each set.

Officials that show up locally usually get $15 to $25 each depending on their level, plus they also usually get a free entry at the tournament if they want to compete. A pairer also usually gets a free entry for their son. Other areas of the country pay officials based on their own local pay scale.

The Head Official and Head Pairer usually get $50 each. There is no way to tell ahead of time how many officials will show. I normally invite five to seven experienced officials and about six first time new officials. The new officials will get $12 each (for their AAU officials dues), or $20 each (for their USAW officials dues) plus a free entry if they have a white shirt and their own whistle and wristlets.

Many tournament host sites also give their own team members a free entry if they help. They will, however, still need to buy USAW or AAU cards for insurance if they want to compete. Encourage your wrestlers to enter even if they aren't in top shape or don't know freestyle as it is good experience. Many wrestlers can learn enough freestyle to get by just by watching a few matches. Give any team member entries directly to the Head Official or Tournament Director before the event so they can validate the free entry. If members enter more than one style, they will need to pay for any extra medals they win.

In this area, the host school gets all money for food they sell, etc. We usually let any vendors who show up sell for free. It helps them pay their expenses for their own entries or travel. We don't let others who may show up sell other than wrestling equipment and/or maybe baseball cards.

After paying all fees and expenses, many groups split the entry money between host school and the sanctioning club.

Schedule Notes

The Head Official and Pairer will arrive at about 6:45 am the date of the tournament. Two tables plus chairs should be set up near the gym entrance to take entries. Groups of entries will start arriving by 7:15 am. Once these larger entries start arriving, we rely on the school representative or coach to take care of tournament set-up activities since we will be tied up with weighins and entry forms. There will be a pairer available to help organize the pairing area.

Unless food and coffee is readily available, most people will leave after weighins to go eat someplace. It is best for sales to have the food readily accessable and visible close to where weigh ins are located, even if not near the locker room. Many places have the weigin scale in a room near the cafateria just to sell food easier.

Weighins will end around 9:00 am. Preliminary pairing will start about 8:45 am. The clinic will be held about 9:20 am with matches starting around 9:30. Depending on entries, cleanup lasts about one hour after the event ends. For our small local events, we are able to finish and clear the gym by 3:00-3:30 pm.

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