Helpful Hints

Are we required to attend tournaments?

No.  Wrestling doesn't have a strict competitions schedule like other sports. The tournaments on our list are to let you know which tournaments will have Rhinos Coaches attending to help you and your child.  You are free to attend (or not attend) which every tournaments you wish. We have some kids who wrestle every weekend and will travel to tournaments that are not on our list. Meanwhile, we have some kids who have been with us for two years and have still never gone to a tournament.

We do encourage wrestlers to attend tournaments.  Competition can be a big motivator for them to put forth more effort in practice.  WWKWL tournaments award every participant with a medal which is often very motivating for young beginning wrestlers.

What does my child need to participate in a tournament?

• USA Wrestling Membership Card. BRING THIS CARD TO THE TOURNAMENT!  You can also download the USA wrestling app for your smart phone. Then you will never have to worry about forgetting your card at a tournament. 
• Singlet. Many novice tournaments will allow a wrestler to wear a T-shirt and shorts, but USAW tournaments require a singlet and many Freestyle tournaments require a red singlet AND a blue singlet (red/blue reversible singlets are available from some manufacturers).  Here is a great article about buying singlets.
• Wrestling Shoes.
• Please trim fingernails before a tournament.
• When you click on any suplay link on this site and buy your gear from Suplay we get credit toward future team purchases.

What should I expect at a tournament?
In general you should expect the following. Be sure to check specifics of individual tournaments.

• Weigh-ins start at 7am and close sharply at 8am. Do not be late, at 8:01am you will be turned away. Wrestlers need to check in, and are required to present their USAW wrestling cards. Without a valid USAW wrestling card they will be turned away. Next wrestlers will need to proceed through a line to be weighed and where they will be inspected for skin diseases and to ensure their finger nails are trim. Parents cannot accompany them in this line, but they will be visible. Before entering the line wrestlers should be wearing their singlet and will need to have their USAW wrestling card with them. A lanyard with a pocket for their USAW wrestling card and registration information may be handy.
• The first matches will not start until 10am. Most wrestlers eat breakfast at this time. Then start warming up on the mats around 9-9:30am. During this time the tournament organizers are creating the brackets that will be used to schedule the matches for the rest of the day.
• At 10am the first matches will start. There will be video monitors set up throughout the venue listing the next matches to take place. Watch these monitors for your wrestlers name, they will tell you when and where (there are multiple mats) to be for their matches.
• In WWKWL tournaments most wrestlers will have three matches (win or lose) and some tournaments allow matches to continue after a winner has been determined for the kids to practice.  Every child will receive a medal. Most tournaments list until late-afternoon or early-evening.
• USAW tournaments are double elimination. This means once a wrestler has lost two matches (consecutive or not) they are eliminated from the tournament. The tournament will end once every bracket is complete and the winner has been determined and there will be a brief ceremony to close the tournament. Most tournaments last until late-afternoon or early-evening.

USAW vs. WWKWL (Novice) 
WWKWL (aka Novice League, aka Western Washington Kids Wrestling League) tournaments are suggested for young beginning wrestlers. These tournaments are designed to introduce beginner wrestlers to the sport, providing an environment where they can compete against wrestlers of similar skill level. As a guideline wrestlers with more than two years of experience (excluding time in Pee Wee); wrestlers who have placed in an USAW tournament; and wrestlers who have placed many times in WWKWL tournaments are probably too advanced to continue participating in WWKWL events. These are only guidelines and your coach should be able to advise the type of tournaments appropriate for your wrestler. WWKWL tournaments are listed on trackwrestling.com, look for WWKWL in the title. To pre-register for a WWKWL tournament speak with your coach. Pre-registering will speed up the check-in process the morning of the event. If you did not pre-register you can register the morning of the event.

USAW (USA Wrestling) tournaments are open to wrestlers of any skill level and have a higher level of competition than WWKWL events. Young wrestlers can be intimidated by the level of completion and should participate in WWKWL events first if possible. USAW tournaments are listed on trackwrestling.com where you can pre-register which will speed up the check-in process the morning of the event and usually save you a few dollars. If you did not pre-register you can register the morning of the event.

Track Wrestling
Register here for tournaments and see a schedule of the nationwide tournaments. Here are some handy tips to find this season’s tournaments in Washington.

• Go to the trackwrestling.com login page.
• Click the "Search' button.
• When the "Search Tournaments" box appears, click on "Common Dates" and select the current season (e.g.  "2014-2015 Season").
• Also, within the ‘Search Tournaments’ box, click on "state held in" and select "Washington".
• Click the "Search" button.

WSWA
The official website of the Washington State Wrestling Association

Wear your shirt!
Have your wrestlers (and your self if you have one) wear their bright red rhinos wrestling t-shirts or hoodies.  This is a great way for us to find each other and a great way for new wrestling parents to find other rhinos to help with any questions you may have.

Regionals/Nationals Travel Money Request
The Rhinos support athletes with a scholarship to help offset the cost of travel when attending regional or national level competitions.