Yesterday and Today Missouri hosts its FS/GR State Tournament. They have substantially more competitors than we will have at our tournament on June 6th. We had a siginficant increase in participants in 2008 when our tournament was held in May. Somehow the Corporate Board in their continued effort to completely ignore the facts and data have moved it back to June. This was after Tom Peterman asked for a vote at the District 1 Body Meeting and received UNANIMOUS support to keep the tournament in May. Somehow it was overlooked that 40% of the 2008 competitors were from District 1. Can someone from the Corporate Board please explain?

While we continue to let our FS/GR State become meaningless our neighbors continue to place emphasis on attendance:

http://www.missouriusawrestling.org/08-09/NationalTeams2009.doc

All of us who love spring/summer wrestling need to make our presence known and let those on the board who appear to be uninformed know what we WANT. It is ridiculous for our wrestlers to be subjected to a schedule that lines up state, Southern Plains, and National Duals on three consecutive weekends. It does not give team coordinators adequate time to assemble and prepare teams. The entire effort is being privatized and it wouldn't surprise me if we don't see a PRIVATE Kansas team at one of the national dual team events very soon.

I talk to many of you who make your opinion known to me but feel that it is a waste to voice it to the Corporate Board. You have to break from this practice and begin being the outspoken majority so that we are not governed by the noisy special interests groups that exist within our political structure.

The FS/GR State needs to be at least 1.5 days and it needs six to eight mats. It needs to have 400 plus wrestlers and good officiating. It needs to be in May and it needs to be a National Team Qualifier with mandates.


Will Cokeley
(708)267-6615
willcokeley@gmail.com