Competition is an important part wrestling; but it’s only one part. Competition in conjunction with training, drilling, and conditioning helps in the development of young wrestlers. Each area is as important as the next. With that being said, whether you have been with Darkhorse for a while or are new to the club, please read through the information below as it pertains to competitions and competing.
TOURNAMENTS: there are two types of club tournaments – Sanctioned and Unsanctioned. While we encourage participation in any tournament, the differences are that in sanctioned tournaments Darkhorse will compete as a club. This means that wrestlers should register under ‘Darkhorse’ and will be provided Darkhorse singlets with our coaches in the corners.
At unsanctioned tournaments, wrestlers will wear their own singlets to compete in. In addition, the Darkhorse coaches will not be coaching that particular tournament. Please note, we will NOT lend club singlets for unsanctioned tournaments.
REGISTERING: When registering for a tournament, please register under “Darkhorse Wrestling”. Please note that spelling is important since many tournaments count team points and variation in spelling may result in your wrestler’s points not being counted. Please register exactly as its appears – Darkhorse Wrestling – two words, both capitalized (we know this sounds trivial, but we’ve lost tournament points because of it in the past).
DARKHORSE VS OTHER CLUBS: We understand that many of our wrestlers train at various clubs including ours. While we encourage that, we also expect that our wrestlers compete for Darkhorse at tournaments that we are competing at. If Darkhorse is NOT competing at a specific tournament, then our wrestlers may compete on behalf of another club OR they can register and still compete under Darkhorse Wrestling.
We count registered wrestlers to ensure we have enough singlets, coaches, etc. If you are competing on behalf of another club, we will assume that club is providing any and all support. We will also make the assumption that competing against the club in any tournament will remove the wrestler from training at Darkhorse.
COACH’S FEES: There are nominal coach’s fees for every tournament. These fee’s cover expenses for travel, food, hotels (if needed) etc. Coach’s fees are payable at the event directly to the Coach.
EVENT DAY: We encourage all of our wrestlers to meet at the tournament location 45 minutes before wrestling begins. We will email all wrestlers/parents of the exact location either the night before the tournament or the morning of. At that time we will distribute singlets and begin a structured team warm-up session. At the conclusion of wrestling we will collect all the singlets.
VISIBILITY and CONDUCT: We want all of our wrestlers and parents in Darkhorse gear. We’re proud of our athletes and their desire and drive to compete. At the same time, we expect that our wrestlers (and parents) win (and lose) with humility and respect for their opponents and the sport of wrestling. We understand that wrestling can be an emotional sport, but we need our wrestlers and parents to remember that they are representing not only themselves but the larger club. We expect our staff, wrestlers, and parents to act with class and humility at all times. In wrestling, as in life, things won’t always go our way, but as long as we act appropriately we can hold our heads high. The expectations for conduct apply to both sanctioned and unsanctioned tournaments. If any wrestler or parent feels that a fellow wrestler’s and/or parent’s conduct is reflecting poorly on Darkhorse, please let a staff member know so appropriate steps can be taken to address/ resolve any issues. Let’s been seen out there as Darkhorse and be proud of our collective achievements.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TOURNAMENTS: We aim to ensure that the tournament schedule provides a good mix for all skill levels. Please discuss which tournaments your wrestler should plan to attend with Coach Casey or Coach Jim prior to registering. We encourage wrestlers to participate in as many of the tournaments listed below as possible taking into account the tournament and where the wrestler is in terms of competition.
DUAL VS INDIVIDUAL: In a Dual Team tournament there are a set number of weight classes and teams wrestle against one other head-to-head. In individual tournaments each wrestler competes in a weight class as an individual but their overall points are counted toward a team total. For Dual Teams there is usually a tryout or ‘wrestle-off’ event to determine who is on the team. Ask any of the staff if you have any other questions.
Darkhorse Wrestling Staff