wvmat.com

The Intelligencer newspaper out of Wheeling said the WVSSAC has announced winter sports format. For wrestling the state tournament will be in Huntington March 17-20. A/AA will run Wed 17th and Thurs 18th. AAA will run the 19th & 20th. It is said that Bernie Dolan of WVSSAC confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

Any word of when the SSAC will make an official statement?
I also heard that the 14 practice rule will still be in effect, meaning competition cannot start until January 27th.

What a mess. Jan. 27. With the color coded map, not sure the season is worth it. I know If I was a marginal(as I was,most kids) wrestler, it would be almost impossible to stay in shape between football and wrestling season. I would not have had access to any other wrestling programs, even if they existed then.

According to a WVMetroNews article posted yesterday, it looks like states will be held March 24-27. I assume the format will be the same as mentioned above - AA on Wed & Thurs, AAA on Fri & Sat.

"The SSAC has put preliminary plans in place to move winter sports championship dates back by about four weeks. The state swim championships are set for March 18-19 in Morgantown. The state wrestling tournament will be expanded from 3 days to 4 days in Huntington from March 24-27. The girls basketball tournament will be March 30-April 3, with the boys tournament starting a week afterwards. Dolan said the state COVID map will remain in place to determine which winter sports teams can play."

https://wvmetronews.com/2020/11/30/dola ... ellations/

Sigh...

The WVMetronews article sounds legitimate, but I don't want to assume anything until I hear it from Wayne Ryan himself.

I will contact the WVSSAC and ask for an official document that I can post. I will relay the official information as soon as I receive it.

I have been in contact with Wayne Ryan at the WVSSAC, and he said that he's not sure where WVMetronews got the dates they posted. I forwarded him the link that's in this thread, and he said he would make Bernie Dolan aware of it.

So, officially from the WVSSAC:
Regional tournaments will be held the weekend of March 6.
State tournament will be held WEDNESDAY thru Saturday, March 17-20.

I am also getting clarification on the official dates for the first day of practice and the first day that matches can be scheduled. All of the dates will be updated on the front page as soon as I have official word.

If they are worried about people let's split up all 3 classes and have true champions in all 3 classes now.

This would be a good time for the WVSSAC to reconsider the week off between Regionals and state so these kids can get the most out of a shortened season, if they are lucky enough to have one.

WP1992 wrote:This would be a good time for the WVSSAC to reconsider the week off between Regionals and state so these kids can get the most out of a shortened season, if they are lucky enough to have one.

I agree with you but they have been very clear when speaking with them that the off week will continue.

Sadly, they aren't the most flexible bunch.

firedawg64 wrote:If they are worried about people let's split up all 3 classes and have true champions in all 3 classes now.

Nah its watered down enough already and that would add more athletes to an already packed arena. If you are going to change it then an All-class system is the way to go with 32 man brackets.

Lloyd Christmas wrote:

firedawg64 wrote:If they are worried about people let's split up all 3 classes and have true champions in all 3 classes now.

Nah its watered down enough already and that would add more athletes to an already packed arena. If you are going to change it then an All-class system is the way to go with 32 man brackets.

Although it is 3 months away and things could (likely will) continue to evolve, it "already" has changed. Still just the two classes, but held at different times and I'm guessing spread out over two days with the first day having an 8 man bracket for the first 7 weight classes and the 2nd day for the last seven. Don't think there will be any "packed arena". Question is, are they planning to only take the top 2 places from each region and if so will they wrestle for a true 2nd place, if needed? Weird thing is that maybe only half of a team will actually be present when the championship trophy is awarded. Again, long way off and the least of any worries or concerns right now. But it already has been changed and not likely any 32 man brackets.

Top two from each region... there's gonna be some fired up people on these forums about rankings then...

KDunbar wrote:

Lloyd Christmas wrote:

firedawg64 wrote:If they are worried about people let's split up all 3 classes and have true champions in all 3 classes now.

Nah its watered down enough already and that would add more athletes to an already packed arena. If you are going to change it then an All-class system is the way to go with 32 man brackets.

Although it is 3 months away and things could (likely will) continue to evolve, it "already" has changed. Still just the two classes, but held at different times and I'm guessing spread out over two days with the first day having an 8 man bracket for the first 7 weight classes and the 2nd day for the last seven. Don't think there will be any "packed arena". Question is, are they planning to only take the top 2 places from each region and if so will they wrestle for a true 2nd place, if needed? Weird thing is that maybe only half of a team will actually be present when the championship trophy is awarded. Again, long way off and the least of any worries or concerns right now. But it already has been changed and not likely any 32 man brackets.

I really meant the 32 man all class for the future. I just get tired of people advocating for single a state tourney. I am for 32 man bracket, place top 8, award 3 team champs and 3 OWs.

I'm a big fan of a single state tournament too (like NJ or CA). It would create more competitive brackets, and I think overall make a WV state championship more valuable as a credential. As Mr. Christmas said, you could still award AAA, AA, and A team titles based off of points scored (the OVAC does this with its class champion awards). Plus, it would give us some cross division/classification matches that we might or usually dont get to see throughout the year.