Fellow USAWKS Members, Coaches, Leaders, and Directors:
In recent years a practice has surfaced whereby a tournament will charge a competitor an additional fee to weigh in earlier than the other competitors who have paid the standard entry fee. While we do not have a rule clearly prohibiting this practice I want everyone to consider the negative impact it has on wrestling. If the practice doesn't cease we will proceed to create a rule to ban it.
By allowing “some” competitors to weigh earlier than others you have tilted the playing field in their favor. Of course everyone has the same opportunity to pay the additional fee but not everyone can afford to which sums this up as a benefit of affluence. While there can be many such benefits this clearly gives those who pay the additional fee a direct benefit in a competition event.
The basis for weigh in is a level playing field for all wrestlers. The rule provides that ALL competitors weigh within a predefined time slot prior to the start of the competition. We are preparing our kids for the next level! High school wrestling permits weigh in just one hour before competition for all wrestlers. Soutnern Plains, other regionals, national duals, and Fargo all only permit one weigh in for a short time period that you must be in attendance at the beginning. It is should NOT be an acceptable practice to permit a special weigh in for those who will pay.
USAWKS already allows flexibility for weigh ins to permit convenience for our members. We have dramatically altered the national high school rule to permit easier tournament management, less stress on travel and on the competitors. We have NOT provided this flexibility to encourage weight cutting or to create a profit opportunity. Additionally the above mentioned practice has the appearance of encouraging weight cutting by giving those who pay a greater recovery time.
While we all need funds to operate our clubs, if your tournament is not financially gainful, the proper way to retrieve income from our members is through the entry fee which is flat for all competitors. If your tournament is not returning a profit you should raise the entry fee, have a raffle, make your concessions appealing, or other means that do NOT tilt the playing field for some competitors.
Lastly, while we all know this practice has been in place before, USA Wrestling is adamantly against this practice but expects the grass roots members in each state to manage and set an example for ALL wrestlers across the USA. I would like to be able to publicly declare that USA Wrestling Kansas doesn’t condone the practice of "paying to weigh in early." I hope to garner unanimous support for this initiative!
Feel free to reach out to me via email: willcokeley@gmail.com
Happy Holidays!
Will
Will Cokeley
Kansas State Chairman
USAWKS
Cell: 708 267 6615
