Kansas Wrestling Forums General Discussion Kids Folkstyle Open Discussion: Are Numbers Down This Year?

I want to have this as an Open Discussion item, because I am trying to figure out the root cause of the reason numbers for tournaments are down causing tournaments to cancel and other issues.

In working with Marc West from Edmond Generals, He told me that his numbers were down this year by about 100 wrestlers (which he was actually glad for time constraints). I have also witnessed numbers for tournaments being down (Sprawl Nationals, Team Lightning, etc.)

My question is this: is this a result of the economy being the way it is right now? or is there an actual drop in total numbers of kids wrestling?

In our club we have seen an increase in total numbers with our Novice kids overflowing our Novice practice room like never before. Our Advanced room hasn't grown or decreased by much except for the kids who are now in high school wrestling which are actually on our roster for registration. What I am asking is are other clubs seeing this growth as well or is there a decline within the clubs which might be a driving factor for the tournament entries? Or is the economy driving the kids to not go to tournaments even though they are wrestling in a club?

Just some things to think about and like I said I just wanted to keep this as an open discussion regarding the broad range of topics that these questions might bring up.

Sincerely,

Craig Gash

We had our sign up last weak, and will have our first practice this Tuesday, and don't plan on going to a tournament till Jan 2nd. Our club numbers will be up again this year, but we'll have to wait and see how many of our kids wrestle on Saturdays.

With the economy the way it is, I wouldn't be surprised if alot of us don't wait until after the first of the year to get into the full swing of things.

Greg Pelland
Pratt Wrestling Club

Pelland i like that idea but i really wish we could start in november and be finished the week before highschool state. really wish all the kids in the state could be at all the highschool state tournaments to watch. i know that will never happen.

Our Novice numbers have really increased this year and our advanced wrestlers too. We just had our first practice last Wednesday and think most plan to wait until after Christmas to get into full swing. My son wanted to wait until deer season was over and so we will.

Ours is about the same as yours.

We have the most novice kids our club has had in the 5 years I have been involved with the program. Alot of our advanced kids have moved on to HS and MS wrestling but most will join us after their seasons are complete.

i heard that our two local clubs had about 70 kids out each. that's seems to be up from around 45 the last couple of years.

Historically speaking, when the economy is slow wrestling enjoys growth. Parents realizing that things are tough want to have their kids involved in something that will make them realize what real work is..... I hope this is reflected by the overall USA memberships at the end of the year.
With that being said they may not travel like they would have in the past. But, with what has been said above NOVICE numbers are UP in the larger clubs.

I think it is great that some are seeing an increase in their novice numbers; this is ultimately the lifeline of any club. The other part of the equation is maintaining good numbers on the experienced side as well as the participation rate. Understanding that these can decrease for a number of reasons I believe in tough times, as we are now, club’s and more specifically tournament directors need to be especially sensitive to current economic conditions when planning their tournaments. Anything that we can do to lessen the burden for families, whether it is financial, time commitment or otherwise will be a huge positive in maintaining and attracting numbers.
There have been some innovative ideas e.g. split tournaments, remote weigh-in, bundling of benefits etc. that have been implemented with positive results.

I know families will have to make tough decisions this year on which tourney’s they will attend and which weekends they take off. By continuing to make it easier, cheaper and more of a positive experience for those wanting to participate we ultimately strengthen our sport. If you have anything special planned in these areas for your tourney, share them! You never know how contagious it might be and who you may be helping in the end.

We split our practices this year to Novice and Advanced and are filling the room in both sessions so far. Our numbers are higher than they have been for the last 4-5 years.