Original Post By cneff66 (24.154.66.30) February 08, 2010 Subject: weight class ?? How fair is it for an 81lb wrestler to have to wrestle a 110lb wrestler at age 7 or 8? that is a 30lb difference! I was told at Area6 today they made this decision based on numbers participated in the past yrs have been low in the upper weight 85/90/95 etc. So if over the next few yrs the #s go down in the 65/70/75 are they gonna combine them? I do not understand the logic behind this,My son did exceptionally well today but 2 of his matches were up against boys at least 110lb and he weighed in at 95. I also was told these boys had to lose weight and just made it in! This is out of hand! Bring back the other weight classes! Who cares how many are in it if you have to round robin do it at least they would have a fair chance! Reply By wrestlingmom421 --(24.144.197.61)-- My son wrestled last year as a 82lb 8 year old and he got combined with the heavyweights many times due to low numbers in the bracket. It made him a better, stronger wrestler. Remember they are only 7 or 8 and have a lot of years to go. Teach them to be a good sport win or lose and take it from there!!!!!!! Never at any tourney will EVERYBODY be happy.
Reply By cneff66 --(24.154.66.30)-- Point taken, however my sons first match today he could barely get his arms aroung the boy due to his size to roll him! I also saw alot of chest on chest and the lighter guy on the bottom never had a FAIR chance . 30lbs is too much 10lbs is more realistic.
Reply By wrestlingmom421 --(24.144.197.61)-- You had the registration paper and knew the weight bracket when you signed him up....it was YOUR choice to let him wrestle!!!!!!!!
Reply By jtb --(71.116.58.167)-- where is snatchsingle when you need him!
Reply By fluffers1 --(205.188.117.17)-- We agree the weight class was definely unfair. My son was 85lbs & wrestled the heavyweight too. How is he supposed the take down 25lbs of extra weight let alone lift him when he's on top. Do the heavyweights feel they won by beating up on kids 30lbs lighter? We were told 99% of the kids in the bracket were 80-90lbs. It would have been a heck of alot better competion without the heavyweights that's for sure. The heavyweights need to go on a diet or wrestle themselves. I agree the brackets need to be changed whether it makes him a better wrestler or not, it was not fair. I noticed the brackets were different for some of the other Areas. What are the brackets at the states? Does anybody know? Were going to Meadville so wish us luck were hoping its the best Rocky story ever told!!!!
Reply By rickybobby --(69.142.252.90)-- You guys better pick up another sport quickly. If you have an 85lb eight year old, you better get used wrestling kids much heavier than you for the next 4-5 years unless your kid doesn't put on weight and moves into a weight class. Up till about 12 or 13 anything over 100 lbs can be pretty much "pot luck" in what you get in a bracket.
Two years ago, my son wrestled a kid that weighed 97lbs more than him. He has also wrestled a kid 65 pounds more than him. Fair? - yeah, we signed up for that weight class, so it was very fair.
He lost both of those matches, but he went out there with no complaints. He's a tough little (well maybe not so little) son of a gun. And I see many kids who do the same thing all the time.
I would suggest you look into something like bowling as a winter sport - no size issues there. The other popular - basketball - may involve competing against players who may be a couple of inches taller than you.
Reply By PinMan --(98.225.196.17)-- Am I missing something. The original post says this was at an Area 6 tournament. Was this a PJW qualifier? Aren't PJW weight classes pre-determined? If you are the only kid in the bracket you move on, simple as that. There is no combining of weight classes at Area qualifying tournaments.
Reply By rickybobby --(68.171.233.138)-- You are not missing anything. The guy is complaining because there is not a 95lb class at PJW at 8 and under. Seriously, I need to stop reading this forum. Although it is extremely entertaining, I keep finding myself drawn into posts directed at people who seem to reside in some sort of wrestling alternate reality. Next thing you know I will be moving to Meadville to join that circus.
Everyone take a deep breath and repeat - "relax, these are 8 (or 10 or 12) year old kids out there."
Reply By NWwrestler --(71.61.50.15)-- I watched this weight class at the tourny closely (have a sons at 70lbs at 8 u and 90 at 10U). It was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in youth sports. The lighter kids where clearly much better than the heavier kids, however the heavier kids simply pounced on the lighter kids. A kid giving up 25 pounds is simply criminal at this age. If a kid is 1/2 pound heavier than his class at any other weight, he cannot wrestle (somebody must come up with a better excuse for this than "the numbers were down last year") The kid from REC? and the kid from Laurel? where without a doubt, the best wrestlers in that class and everyone around commented regarding the situation. Our coaches and I watched one match when a large large kid (red singlet- Hickory?)just laid on the kid (green black white- Laurel?)and pounded on his head (one parent said he later found out the kid broke his nose). The kid just could not get up even though he was the more skilled. It was sad to see they let this happpen. If it happened at 70lbs, I would do whatever I could to stop it or pull my kid out as would any parent at any other weight class with common sense. It is clear that numbers are lower at heavier weights, but I am not sure the answer is to let the heavy weights prey on the 81- 90 pounders. With tricks like this, more kids will drop out. With attitudes like "rickybobby", I fear for the sport that I love and have dedicated 30 years to. This kind of thing will turn kids off forever. By the way, is this not the biggest problem with high school wrestling today. The numbers are dropping like the snow on Friday. Schools are doing everything they can to get the bigger kids interest in wrestling, and PJW pulls thism stunt. We wrestle a great deal in NY, they went through this already and lost the battle. High school after high school is dropping there programs. PJW should be embracing all of the kids, not creating more problems. Also, it looked like some kids got through without having to wrestle the larger kids. From what we heard, the two large kids from Hickory, never wrestled each other and they both moved on(however based on what SH said before this tourny, they probably will go first at areas- at least they are making things a little fair there) and several of the large kids never wrestled a large kid. Somehow, the brackets could have been set up with a higher and lower section split by weight so that the cream could have risen in both sections and most of this could have been avoided. Otherwise, the tourny was pretty good. Our hats are off to you for dedicating your time.
Reply By rickybobby --(69.142.252.90)-- You are talking about 8 year old kids. "Turn them off forever" - what is going to turn them off forever is the parent that is so intent on marking their kids' achievement by what place he took in the Area 6 qualifier AT EIGHT YEARS OLD, he feels the need to whine on this forum about the brackets.
The sport that I have loved for 30 years can be harsh at times. But like life, it shows the character of its competitors by how they deal with adversity.
Reply By padad --(68.238.244.53)-- Actually the PJW is better than most events when it comes to how they handle heavyweights. If a child is so big that he exceeds the max weight for an age division he needs to wrestle in the next age division. A couple years ago there was a 9 year old who weighed over 200 lbs, he had to lose weight to compete in the U12 as a 9 year old.
The problem is that kids weight distribution follows a Bell curve which is why the lightest kids in every age group have very small brackets and the heaviest weight classes have very large weight variations.
If you subdivide the upper weight range to make smaller weight classes you will likely end up with 4 kids, one in each weight class.
Four Champions, no wrestling, does that improve the sport?.
Reply By kam --(65.189.217.146)-- someone asked above about it being Area VI- Area VI is doing it different than the entire state. There is a qualfier for the Area VI finals. Area VI is runs 6 and Under tourney and 7 & 8 year old the same exact day. The 6 & unders do not advance or go anywhere and it is primarily for the experience. The 7 & 8 year olds place the top 6 and those same 6 finishers go on the area finals and do it all over again and top 2 go to Wilkes Barre for States. Thus why i asked on another post weeks ago about 6 year olds being able to bump and wrestle 7 & 8 -i did not realize that Area VI was the only area that did it like this....none the less 2 comments above stick with me 1- "you knew what the weight classes were going into it" , and " if you have an 7/8 year old at 80 pounds you will have to get used to it". I agree completely on both
Reply By cneff66 --(24.154.66.30)-- Thank you NWwrestler, you are the only one who seems to understand and comprehend what I am saying! The hickory wrestlers were the biggest and it was unfair. Laying on top of someone when you weigh 20+lbs more & just pounding on the back of their neck & head is so pathetic! It happened to my son. Coaches & parents that support that type of wrestling are a disgrace, this is a physical sport that requires constant action & counteraction, pretty hard to react when you have dead weight on you! Yes I knew the weight class was going to be shitty with such a wide gap in weight but my son wanted to wrestle and go to states but alas he missed by 1 bout. Maybe if they had paired fairly & looked at the weight when they did the bracket you could have at least had the lighter ones paired off on the first round to at least have a fait shot. For those who have kids in this division and want to see a change I was told by Ron Payne to take it to the head of area VI , believe me I will be venting my diappointment & I hope others follow suit. I dont give a damn if they are 8 or 18 if my son wins or loses as long as he has a FAIR CHANCE!
Reply By birddog --(75.117.130.148)-- I do not like the weight disparity either, however I am the parent of a very successful 10&U heavy and at 8 years old he was 119(would not have been eligible@110). He is not a fatty just happened to be 11 lbs @ birth and never stopped growing. Most big young heavyweights can be beaten easily by much lighter wrestlers who should be much quicker
and able to execute moves like outside singles on these big kids who basically inside tie and lean on each other. Once your lighter wrestler hits that outside single, the big kid on the ground can rarely get of the mat. We have noticed this over and over at this weight. The 10 & U Heavyweight State Champ last year was probably 25 to 30 lbs lighter than the rest of the bracket(121-150) and he executed shot after shot on the big boys. Good coaching,
and a quicker wrestler will usually win out.
Reply By birddog --(75.117.130.148)-- My last thread should read 25-30 lb. lighter than the average kid in the bracket.
