UNIT TOURNAMENTS
1. UNIT TOURNAMENT FORMAT
A). Each Unit will have a non-scoring “Unit Tournament” on the fourth weekend of the season.
B). The Junior Group will not participate in the Unit Tournaments.
C). Unit Tournament managers have the option to wrestle one or two of the groups on Friday evening and the remainder of the groups on Saturday.
D). Competition will start with the Novice or Middle Group and the Beginner Group will be the last completion on Saturday.
E) The Beginner Group competition will be an ability-grouped “Red/Blue” format using the ranking system of (1-4) adopted by the program.
F) Four-person round-robin groups marshalled to a mat and remain at that mat until all have wrestled each other is recommended for Beginner Group .
F) The Novice and Middle groups will be in bracketed tournament format
E). Unit tournament managers must count the number of entrees from each club in Novice, and Middle, Groups. Clubs will also give the Unit Tournament manager the number of Junior Group wrestlers they plan to enter in the Inter-Valley Tournament . This total must be passed along to the Inter-Valley Tournament directors to determine team sizes for the Inter-Valley, and WMC Tournaments.
F). Unit Tournament managers will e-mail the results of the tournament to the program web site by the next Monday following the tournament they hosted.
2. CRITERIA FOR PLACEMENT ON BRACKETS
A) Seeding criteria for the Novice & Middle Group for placement on the Unit Tournament bracket will fall in this rank order:
1) – Placement in the WMC the past year (top four in “A” bracket)
2) – Placement in the Inter-Valley Tournament the past year (top four)
3) – Placement in the Unit Tournament in the past year (top four)
4) – Placement in any WMC in years prior (top four in “A”)
B). All unseeded wrestlers will be drawn into the brackets with attention to separating same-club members.
3. MULTIPLE BRACKETS FOR LARGE WEIGHT GROUPS
A). Beginner Group wrestlers will be placed in groups by ranking for round robin competition.
B). Brackets will not be used for Beginner Group competition.
C). Novice Group brackets with 17 or more wrestlers entered, will be split into two equal number brackets called “A” and “B” brackets.
D). Novice Group brackets with 33 or more wrestlers entered, will be split into three equal number brackets called “A”, “B”, and “C” brackets.
E). Examples of seeding procedures for multiple brackets in the same weight group may be obtained through the program web-site.
4. REFEREES
A). Each club entered in the Unit Tournament should provide one referee for every 20 wrestlers their club enters in the competition.
B). High school wrestlers , M.O.A.s, wrestling coaches, and other persons with good knowledge of folkstyle wrestling rules are eligible to referee in the Unit Tournaments.
C). Tournament directors will appoint a “Head Official” that will have the following responsibilities at the tournament:
a. Conduct a pre-tournament session to review rules and help prepare the younger officials for the competition.
b. Monitor all of the other officials in the Unit Tournament
c. Make final decisions on disagreements between coaches and officials
4. AWARDS
A). The top four place-winners in each bracket will receive a medal
B). Beginner Group awards are ordered and paid for by the tournament host club (Ribbons or Medals may be used for awards for this group)
C). There will be no team score competition in the Unit Tournaments
5. PLACERS ADVANCING TO THE NEXT TOURNAMENT
A). All Beginner Group wrestlers may advance to the Inter-Valley Tournament on the following weekend.
B). Eight placers in the Novice and Middle Groups in all brackets will advance to the Inter-Valley Tournament.
C). All Junior Group wrestlers can enter the Inter-Valley Tournament.
D). Any corrections or changes to the placement of wrestlers on the bracket must be approved by the Unit Tournament director. The Unit Tournament director will be the only person to direct the Inter-Valley tournament director to make changes on the Inter-valley bracket.
INTER-VALLEY TOURNAMENTS
1. INTER-VALLEY TOURNAMENT FORMAT
A). Units One & Two participants will compete at one Inter-Valley Tournament, and Units Three & Four participants will advance to the other Inter-Valley Tournament.
B). Inter-Valley Tournament managers will wrestle the Junior Group on Friday evening and have the option of including the Middle Group on Friday’s competition.
C) The Beginner Group will wrestle last on Saturday.
D) The Beginner Group competition will be an ability-grouped “Red/Blue” format using the ranking system of (1-4) adopted by the program.
E) Four-person round-robin groups marshalled to a mat and remain at that mat until all have wrestled each other is recommended for Beginner Group .
2. BRACKETING FOR INTER-VALLEY TOURNAMENT
A). Bracketing examples with seeding for the Inter-Valley tournament are available on the program web-site. (westernmontanalittleguywrestling.com)
B). Multiple brackets may be necessary if there are more than 16 wrestlers in a weight class that are advancing from the two Unit Tournaments.
C). Examples of multiple brackets with the proper seeding procedure may be obtained on the program web-site.
D). Junior Group wrestlers will be seeded on to brackets with the same criteria used for the Unit Tournaments.
3. ADVANCEMENT TO THE WMC
A). The Intervalley Tournament is the final competition of the season for the Beginner Group.
B). Novice and Middle Groups will advance the top eight placers in all brackets to the Western Montana Championship Tournament.
C). All Junior Group wrestlers will advance to the WMC Tournament regardless of placement in the Inter-Valley Tournaments.
4. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
A). The top four placers in each bracket will be awarded a medal.
B) Beginner group awards may be either Ribbons or Medals.
B). Beginner Group awards are ordered and paid for by the tournament host club
5. TEAM COMPETITION
A). There will be team competition for “Large Team”, “Medium Team”, and “Small Team” competition at the Inter-Valley Tournament.
B). The team size designation will be determined by the Inter-valley tournament director based on the club numbers that were sent to him by the Unit Tournament directors. That number will include all of the Junior Group wrestlers that will be entered in the Inter-valley Tournament. That number will not include any Beginner Group wrestlers. This designation of team sizes will carry over to the Western Montana Championship Tournament.
a. The top one-third total numbers will be “Large Teams”
b. The middle one-third total numbers will be “Medium Teams”
c. The lower one-third total numbers will be “Small Teams”
C). Team scoring will include the Novice, Middle, and Junior Group wrestlers only.
D). The top 15 placers will determine a club’s team score.
a. 1st Place = 7 Points
b. 2nd Place = 5 Points
c. 3rd Place = 3 Points
d. 4th Place = 1 Point
E). Placers must be opposed by at least one wrestler from another club and have at least three wrestlers competing in the bracket to score points for their team.
WESTERN MONTANA CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Any corrections or changes to the placement of wrestlers on the bracket must be approved by the Inter-valley Tournament director. The Inter-valley Tournament director will be the only person to direct the WMC tournament director to make changes on the WMC bracket.
2. JUNIOR GROUP WILL WRESTLE ON FRIDAY NIGHT
A). Tournament directors at the WMC will run the Junior Group Tournament on Friday evening.
3. NOVICE AND MIDDLE GROUP TOURNAMENT FORMAT
A). Novice and Middle Group wrestlers will wrestle on 16-man brackets with eight placers from each of the two Inter-Valley Tournaments entered.
4. JUNIOR GROUP TOURNAMENT FORMAT
A). If the number of entrees in a Junior weight group is 16 or less wrestlers, they will all be entered in the same 16-man bracket.
B). If the number of entrees in a Junior weight group is greater than 16 wrestlers, the top four placers in each of the two Inter-Valley Tournaments will wrestle on an “A” bracket, and the remaining wrestlers will be on a “B” bracket.
C). Bracketing examples with seeding are available on the program web-site (montanasportsline.com) for the WMC Tournament.
D) Host clubs are encouraged to run the Beginner Championship Tournament at the end of the Western Montana Championship competition.
5. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
A). The top four placers in all brackets will be awarded medals
6. TEAM COMPETION
A). The same format that was used for the team competition in the Inter-Valley Tournaments will be used for the WMC Tournament.
B). Only the Junior “A” brackets will be used for teams scoring.
C). The top four “B” bracket wrestlers will receive medals, but will not be counted in team scoring
XXVI BEGINNER GROUP IS NOT INCLUDED IN WMC
A) Beginner Group wrestlers finish their season at the Intervalley Tournament.
B) No club in the Western Montana Little Guy Wrestling Program will be allowed to host Beginner or Pee-Wee wrestling competitions on Friday or Saturday of the Western Montana Championship Tournament.
XXVII. CROWD CONTROL & COACHES RULES
1. TWO COACHES PER MAT WITH WRIST BAND
A). Two coaches for each wrestler in a match are allowed.
B). Coaches will position themselves in the opposite corner of the mat from the opposing coaches.
C). Mat officials will stop competition and ask coaches to comply with the two-coach rule when more than two coaches for one wrestler are at mat-side for the competition.
D). At the Unit, Inter-Valley, Beginner Championship, and Western Montana Championship Tournaments all coaches will wear a coaches wrist band provided by the tournament management.
E). Only persons wearing coaches wrist bands will be allowed at mat-sides to coach during wrestling matches at the Unit, Inter-Valley, Beginner Championships, and WMC Tournaments.
2. CROWD MANAGEMENT
A). A tournament marshal will be appointed by the host club for the Unit, Inter-Valley and WMC Tournaments to help monitor and control the fans and parents.
B). The first and most important responsibility of the marshal will be to keep non-coaches behind the ropes and away from mat-side while competition is in progress. (This includes fans attempting to photo or video a match)
C). Coolers and food containers will not be allowed in the event facility for the Unit, Inter-Valley, and WMC Tournaments.
D). All club representatives are responsible for the sportsmanship and general conduct of parents and fans in their club.
E). Coaches should take an active part in helping control their fans.
F) Host teams are strongly encouraged to use these management practices in dual and invitational competition in the first three weeks of the season.
XXVIII. UNIFORMS
1. SINGLETS OR TWO-PIECE FIGHTING SHORTS & COMPRESSION SHIRTS FOR COMPETITOIN
A) Wrestling singlets or fighting shorts with compression shirts are required for all competitions.
XXVIV. SANCTIONS
1. PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE
A). The board of directors reserves the right to apply the following sanctions to clubs that are out of compliance with the rules that are outlined in the WMLG By-laws.
a. Letter of reprimand to individual or club representative
b. Fines levied on clubs up to $500.00
c. Loss of bidding privileges for the Unit, Inter-Valley and WMC Tournaments for one or more years.
d. Loss of charter to WMLG Wrestling program (no longer allowed to participate)
SPORTSMANSHIP CREED
The success of our Western Montana Little Guy Wrestling Program is totally dependent on the conduct of the adults that work in the program. The teaching of sportsmanship is a top priority for coaches and parents. Coaches must set an example for the young competitors by refraining from profanity and maintaining control when dealing with officials. Being positive with these young athletes will make it a rewarding experience for all involved.
We cannot allow our egos as coaches, parents, and fans to get in the way of modeling good sportsmanship to the wrestlers in the program.
1. UNIT TOURNAMENT FORMAT
A). Each Unit will have a non-scoring “Unit Tournament” on the fourth weekend of the season.
B). The Junior Group will not participate in the Unit Tournaments.
C). Unit Tournament managers have the option to wrestle one or two of the groups on Friday evening and the remainder of the groups on Saturday.
D). Competition will start with the Novice or Middle Group and the Beginner Group will be the last completion on Saturday.
E) The Beginner Group competition will be an ability-grouped “Red/Blue” format using the ranking system of (1-4) adopted by the program.
F) Four-person round-robin groups marshalled to a mat and remain at that mat until all have wrestled each other is recommended for Beginner Group .
F) The Novice and Middle groups will be in bracketed tournament format
E). Unit tournament managers must count the number of entrees from each club in Novice, and Middle, Groups. Clubs will also give the Unit Tournament manager the number of Junior Group wrestlers they plan to enter in the Inter-Valley Tournament . This total must be passed along to the Inter-Valley Tournament directors to determine team sizes for the Inter-Valley, and WMC Tournaments.
F). Unit Tournament managers will e-mail the results of the tournament to the program web site by the next Monday following the tournament they hosted.
2. CRITERIA FOR PLACEMENT ON BRACKETS
A) Seeding criteria for the Novice & Middle Group for placement on the Unit Tournament bracket will fall in this rank order:
1) – Placement in the WMC the past year (top four in “A” bracket)
2) – Placement in the Inter-Valley Tournament the past year (top four)
3) – Placement in the Unit Tournament in the past year (top four)
4) – Placement in any WMC in years prior (top four in “A”)
B). All unseeded wrestlers will be drawn into the brackets with attention to separating same-club members.
3. MULTIPLE BRACKETS FOR LARGE WEIGHT GROUPS
A). Beginner Group wrestlers will be placed in groups by ranking for round robin competition.
B). Brackets will not be used for Beginner Group competition.
C). Novice Group brackets with 17 or more wrestlers entered, will be split into two equal number brackets called “A” and “B” brackets.
D). Novice Group brackets with 33 or more wrestlers entered, will be split into three equal number brackets called “A”, “B”, and “C” brackets.
E). Examples of seeding procedures for multiple brackets in the same weight group may be obtained through the program web-site.
4. REFEREES
A). Each club entered in the Unit Tournament should provide one referee for every 20 wrestlers their club enters in the competition.
B). High school wrestlers , M.O.A.s, wrestling coaches, and other persons with good knowledge of folkstyle wrestling rules are eligible to referee in the Unit Tournaments.
C). Tournament directors will appoint a “Head Official” that will have the following responsibilities at the tournament:
a. Conduct a pre-tournament session to review rules and help prepare the younger officials for the competition.
b. Monitor all of the other officials in the Unit Tournament
c. Make final decisions on disagreements between coaches and officials
4. AWARDS
A). The top four place-winners in each bracket will receive a medal
B). Beginner Group awards are ordered and paid for by the tournament host club (Ribbons or Medals may be used for awards for this group)
C). There will be no team score competition in the Unit Tournaments
5. PLACERS ADVANCING TO THE NEXT TOURNAMENT
A). All Beginner Group wrestlers may advance to the Inter-Valley Tournament on the following weekend.
B). Eight placers in the Novice and Middle Groups in all brackets will advance to the Inter-Valley Tournament.
C). All Junior Group wrestlers can enter the Inter-Valley Tournament.
D). Any corrections or changes to the placement of wrestlers on the bracket must be approved by the Unit Tournament director. The Unit Tournament director will be the only person to direct the Inter-Valley tournament director to make changes on the Inter-valley bracket.
INTER-VALLEY TOURNAMENTS
1. INTER-VALLEY TOURNAMENT FORMAT
A). Units One & Two participants will compete at one Inter-Valley Tournament, and Units Three & Four participants will advance to the other Inter-Valley Tournament.
B). Inter-Valley Tournament managers will wrestle the Junior Group on Friday evening and have the option of including the Middle Group on Friday’s competition.
C) The Beginner Group will wrestle last on Saturday.
D) The Beginner Group competition will be an ability-grouped “Red/Blue” format using the ranking system of (1-4) adopted by the program.
E) Four-person round-robin groups marshalled to a mat and remain at that mat until all have wrestled each other is recommended for Beginner Group .
2. BRACKETING FOR INTER-VALLEY TOURNAMENT
A). Bracketing examples with seeding for the Inter-Valley tournament are available on the program web-site. (westernmontanalittleguywrestling.com)
B). Multiple brackets may be necessary if there are more than 16 wrestlers in a weight class that are advancing from the two Unit Tournaments.
C). Examples of multiple brackets with the proper seeding procedure may be obtained on the program web-site.
D). Junior Group wrestlers will be seeded on to brackets with the same criteria used for the Unit Tournaments.
3. ADVANCEMENT TO THE WMC
A). The Intervalley Tournament is the final competition of the season for the Beginner Group.
B). Novice and Middle Groups will advance the top eight placers in all brackets to the Western Montana Championship Tournament.
C). All Junior Group wrestlers will advance to the WMC Tournament regardless of placement in the Inter-Valley Tournaments.
4. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
A). The top four placers in each bracket will be awarded a medal.
B) Beginner group awards may be either Ribbons or Medals.
B). Beginner Group awards are ordered and paid for by the tournament host club
5. TEAM COMPETITION
A). There will be team competition for “Large Team”, “Medium Team”, and “Small Team” competition at the Inter-Valley Tournament.
B). The team size designation will be determined by the Inter-valley tournament director based on the club numbers that were sent to him by the Unit Tournament directors. That number will include all of the Junior Group wrestlers that will be entered in the Inter-valley Tournament. That number will not include any Beginner Group wrestlers. This designation of team sizes will carry over to the Western Montana Championship Tournament.
a. The top one-third total numbers will be “Large Teams”
b. The middle one-third total numbers will be “Medium Teams”
c. The lower one-third total numbers will be “Small Teams”
C). Team scoring will include the Novice, Middle, and Junior Group wrestlers only.
D). The top 15 placers will determine a club’s team score.
a. 1st Place = 7 Points
b. 2nd Place = 5 Points
c. 3rd Place = 3 Points
d. 4th Place = 1 Point
E). Placers must be opposed by at least one wrestler from another club and have at least three wrestlers competing in the bracket to score points for their team.
WESTERN MONTANA CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Any corrections or changes to the placement of wrestlers on the bracket must be approved by the Inter-valley Tournament director. The Inter-valley Tournament director will be the only person to direct the WMC tournament director to make changes on the WMC bracket.
2. JUNIOR GROUP WILL WRESTLE ON FRIDAY NIGHT
A). Tournament directors at the WMC will run the Junior Group Tournament on Friday evening.
3. NOVICE AND MIDDLE GROUP TOURNAMENT FORMAT
A). Novice and Middle Group wrestlers will wrestle on 16-man brackets with eight placers from each of the two Inter-Valley Tournaments entered.
4. JUNIOR GROUP TOURNAMENT FORMAT
A). If the number of entrees in a Junior weight group is 16 or less wrestlers, they will all be entered in the same 16-man bracket.
B). If the number of entrees in a Junior weight group is greater than 16 wrestlers, the top four placers in each of the two Inter-Valley Tournaments will wrestle on an “A” bracket, and the remaining wrestlers will be on a “B” bracket.
C). Bracketing examples with seeding are available on the program web-site (montanasportsline.com) for the WMC Tournament.
D) Host clubs are encouraged to run the Beginner Championship Tournament at the end of the Western Montana Championship competition.
5. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
A). The top four placers in all brackets will be awarded medals
6. TEAM COMPETION
A). The same format that was used for the team competition in the Inter-Valley Tournaments will be used for the WMC Tournament.
B). Only the Junior “A” brackets will be used for teams scoring.
C). The top four “B” bracket wrestlers will receive medals, but will not be counted in team scoring
XXVI BEGINNER GROUP IS NOT INCLUDED IN WMC
A) Beginner Group wrestlers finish their season at the Intervalley Tournament.
B) No club in the Western Montana Little Guy Wrestling Program will be allowed to host Beginner or Pee-Wee wrestling competitions on Friday or Saturday of the Western Montana Championship Tournament.
XXVII. CROWD CONTROL & COACHES RULES
1. TWO COACHES PER MAT WITH WRIST BAND
A). Two coaches for each wrestler in a match are allowed.
B). Coaches will position themselves in the opposite corner of the mat from the opposing coaches.
C). Mat officials will stop competition and ask coaches to comply with the two-coach rule when more than two coaches for one wrestler are at mat-side for the competition.
D). At the Unit, Inter-Valley, Beginner Championship, and Western Montana Championship Tournaments all coaches will wear a coaches wrist band provided by the tournament management.
E). Only persons wearing coaches wrist bands will be allowed at mat-sides to coach during wrestling matches at the Unit, Inter-Valley, Beginner Championships, and WMC Tournaments.
2. CROWD MANAGEMENT
A). A tournament marshal will be appointed by the host club for the Unit, Inter-Valley and WMC Tournaments to help monitor and control the fans and parents.
B). The first and most important responsibility of the marshal will be to keep non-coaches behind the ropes and away from mat-side while competition is in progress. (This includes fans attempting to photo or video a match)
C). Coolers and food containers will not be allowed in the event facility for the Unit, Inter-Valley, and WMC Tournaments.
D). All club representatives are responsible for the sportsmanship and general conduct of parents and fans in their club.
E). Coaches should take an active part in helping control their fans.
F) Host teams are strongly encouraged to use these management practices in dual and invitational competition in the first three weeks of the season.
XXVIII. UNIFORMS
1. SINGLETS OR TWO-PIECE FIGHTING SHORTS & COMPRESSION SHIRTS FOR COMPETITOIN
A) Wrestling singlets or fighting shorts with compression shirts are required for all competitions.
XXVIV. SANCTIONS
1. PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE
A). The board of directors reserves the right to apply the following sanctions to clubs that are out of compliance with the rules that are outlined in the WMLG By-laws.
a. Letter of reprimand to individual or club representative
b. Fines levied on clubs up to $500.00
c. Loss of bidding privileges for the Unit, Inter-Valley and WMC Tournaments for one or more years.
d. Loss of charter to WMLG Wrestling program (no longer allowed to participate)
SPORTSMANSHIP CREED
The success of our Western Montana Little Guy Wrestling Program is totally dependent on the conduct of the adults that work in the program. The teaching of sportsmanship is a top priority for coaches and parents. Coaches must set an example for the young competitors by refraining from profanity and maintaining control when dealing with officials. Being positive with these young athletes will make it a rewarding experience for all involved.
We cannot allow our egos as coaches, parents, and fans to get in the way of modeling good sportsmanship to the wrestlers in the program.