Wvywa states areana size???

[SkyWalker22]

Ok I don’t want to be the bad guy, but our we really thinking we are going to get 1000 wrestlers in there plus parents , relatives, coaches without some kind of split start or something???? I may be wrong but , just saying

[Goldenponyboy]

That place is way too small. Like not even close. I say it's a 300 kid max

[vaportrails14]

i was thinking the same thing small wondering how they are going to have 8 mats

[kvnfarley]

Wood county held their Jr. State tournament here for 2 years while they were remolding their high school they had set records for numbers for wrestlers both years. They have hosted the Army National Gaurdi Duals high school middle school duals here. We have held the Friends of Coal wrestling tournaments here. They have big high school basketball tournaments there. 8 mats are down there isn’t really a bad seat in the entire building you can see every mat. Concessions are closer to your seats and cheaper parking is free your close to restaurants.

[kvnfarley]

I have been trying to post picture of 8 mats and how they are numbered but not letting me

[kvnfarley]

I have been trying to post picture of 8 mats and how they are numbered but not letting me

[SkyWalker22]

Totally my bad I didn’t think you would fit everyone in there but I was wrong you guys have did a great job!!!

[Matdad304]

All in all the people running the WVYWA State tournament have done a respectable job. However, to announce every bout in every division for every place wasn't well thought out. This tournament will not be over till 8 or 9 pm today. They didn't do this announcement deal between classes the past 2 seasons in Huntington. I hope the committee learns from this mistake.

[Wrestletough]

The armory in beckley was nowhere near big enough to House this many people. Concession lines were absolutely ridiculous, bathrooms were gross and there was always a line. The speaker never stopped complaining about people standing around but you had to in order to see because the place was so small you could NOT see all the mats and clocks from where you were at any point. You weren’t allowed to bring any outside food or drinks in BUT concessions could not even close to keep up, you could only attempt to stand in line if you knew for sure you had an hour to stand there and you might not be able to let your kid eat by the time they get it because the time in between matches was spent standing in line. There were not enough seats, food, bathrooms, parking, or room period for that many people.. if there was a max there we absolutely exceeded it. At one point the guy was complaining because there weren’t seats for everyone and then complained that people needed to sit down? I don’t know who thought that was big enough but I truly hope it isn’t there next year.

[Wrestletough]

Wasn’t big enough

[Hwtmom]

By the time it got to 12 u middle school. They weren’t even announcing.

[vaportrails14]

speaking of food not allowed to bring in i saw few people have outside food in bags of chips not just small bags the big regular size they didnt even check our bags if i known that i would have brought food in i agree they need to bigger place the hotel we stayed the employees dont understand why they had it there they said probably just to save money

[kvnfarley]

Everyone needs to remember WVYWA is doing something that for the entire state not just one group of clubs. They are going to move from region to region so everyone can host the stars and show off their local talent and bring the rest of the state to their area. Beckley being the first time it has moved of course there were going to be several bumps and misfires but I think the board recovered well. I made arrangements for the mats and day of one school backed out leaving me to find 2 replacements but being a tight nit family it was handled quickly. Yes split times will make a big difference in crowd size. I also think convention center learned a lesson youth wrestling is a big deal in West Virginia do not under staff. On the good side 900 kids no fights on the mats or in the crowd so we already have high school states beat. Great matches great seeing so many people in our wrestling family almost like a family reunion.

[Wrestlersmom]

Is the venue not looked at before commit to a location? I know that it is suppose to be in the same location for 2 yrs. Hopefully after looking at all the fans that didn't have seats they will look st moving the location back to the Big Sandy or find another location that will hold what Big Sandy is able to hold. Another problem was the bathroom and concessions you had to wait in line for 45 min. You would miss wrestlers wrestling. Another issue the t-shirt vendors needed to be in another location. Especially the 1st day was big congestion when coming in door with tickets and to buy tickets. The 2nd day was was too long. Needed to cut out bringing all the place holders out on the floor. Was confusing as to what weights and ages were wrestling on which mat. The other issues was on the first day with still alot of wrestling to be done needed to move vehicles because gates were going to be locked. Need to have enough parking or not close gates.

Hopefully this tournament will be looked at real close with the issues that was at hand this weekend and some changes will be made for next yr. Would hate to see it go down hill with in 3 yrs. This weekend's tournament ran good just issues and refs were great probably some of the best I've seen.

[J rollins]

Split session would solve most of the issues. We did have a GREAT turn out! Over 900 kids was awesome! There were 3 people working the concessions with 1 line to order. There shouldve been three or four people taking orderd and three or four more getting food. They were extremely under staffed. That can be fixed. It was a MAJOR hold up allowing each division finish before announcing the next group. Send the wrestlers to the open mat when a match finishes up. I get each kid got to hear there name and run out and that was what the purpose was, but we would reather our kids wrestle much sooner rather than standing around for hours to wrestle. I know the issues will be resolved for next year. It was a fun weekend!