In one of the posts on this forum (LOw attendance at League Tournaments) there was discussion on PROMOTING HS WRESTLING being necessary to expand/grow the sport in Kansas.
Reducing the state tournaments to 8 man brackets is a reduction of the program. One of the biggest reason to participate in any HS sport is the athletes' desire to get to the state tournament. Can not see that a reduced state will help the program, especially if we recognize that at state the seats are filled mostly with the families (and maybe close friends in a few cases) of the wrestlers on the mats. Do not think an all class 8 man bracket state tournament fan base will off set the loss of fans with 16 man bracket tournaments.
Added: I think the KSHSAA philosophy is, within time and money constraints, get the max number of student athletes into a state tournament. The current classification system does that! If you want to change the system you will have to devise a scheme that gets 16 wrestlers per weight to each of 4 tournaments. Any thing other than that is blowing smoke. Combining 5A and 6A is a loser at the git go. Getting an all class state under one roof with a friday/saturday format is not in the future--primarily due to the lack of a facility in the central part of the state (Salina, Manhattan, McPherson, maybe Topeka, etc). A 2 1/2 to 3 day tournament would be a lot more expensive for everyone--schools and fans--another night in motels, eats, another day of tickets and concessions. Can envision half full stands on a third day as the fans and wrestlers eliminated in day two go home.
