I too was shocked by the outcome of the vote. Nearly all of the discussion was in favor of full size mats. The existing arrangement is not fair or safe to the younger wrestlers. As Twister mentioned, the stoppages become excessive and the number of times an official takes his eyes off of the action to check the adjacent wrestlers or position of the adjacent official is not acceptable.
The majority of the funds come from the 8&under and 10&under categories so they deserve to have a full size mat, safe boundries, and the full attention of their official. Everyone who wants full size mats needs to support the change with their club director so that the majority of votes will decide to make the change that is needed.
