Call me a newcomer but I was wondering is there a criteria for when a novice kid has to move to open if it is before the 2 years??

I believe that if your novice wrestler has won 4 novice tournaments and has placed in at least 1 open they move up out of novice. There is a discussion on the novice issue on this forum listed under "Moderator: I need some help" it is either on page 3 or 4. Hopefully this will help.

This is only our son's second year wrestling but, our club follows these guidelines.
KSHSAA AS MODIFIED BY USAWA KANSAS KIDS RULES
DEFINITION OF A NOVICE WRESTLER IS A FIRST OR
SECOND YEAR WRESTLER WHO HAS NOT PLACED IN MORE
THAN 4 OPEN TOURNAMENTS, HAS NOT WON AN OPEN
TOURNAMENT, AND HAS NOT WON MORE THAN 4 NOVICE

Perfect finally something in writing. Thanks!!!

Would you really count a 1st place finish where your kid only has one other kid in their bracket?

If i was you i wouldn't but who know what others would think of it

... which points out why it is so difficult to pen a hard and fast rule regarding Novice tourneys!

There are so many variables. Keep in mind, we have had placers at the State tourney that did not win a match.

Good to have something to start from though and there are exceptions to every rule.

I wouldn't count a 1st place with only one kid in the bracket either, I think I saw somewhere that it should have no less than 4 wrestlers in a bracket to count. I also think with 6U there are probably more exceptions than other ages.

Another issue what if they are meeting and beating the same kids at every tournament due to their age & weight being short on wrestlers to get those 1st place spots should those types of 1st count??

The main idea to keep in mind is that a coach (or parent)should use sound judgement in determining whether or not a wrestler is ready to jump from Novice to Open. Is he (or she) getting any competition at Novice or just "wiping the mat" up with other Novice kids? When they do move up, are they getting "wiped up" by the Open kids? I personally think that a good coach or wise parent will seek out appropriate competition for their wrestlers regardless of their "unofficial" official qualifications as a Novice.

I wish that all clubs and/or coaches and parents would follow this same sound judgement. My son's first year of wrestling, once he started "wiping the mat" with the other novice kids, we kept him out of Novice tournaments. However, since it was his first year he still qualified for the Novice Championships which are for 1st year wrestlers only. We caught a little flak (mainly from our own club)about him being in that tournament as well, since he "wiped the mat" with his competition then as well. But that's why I believe this tournament is a great tournament for 1st year wrestlers, no matter their skill level, in their first year they can participate.

You know if your kid should be a Novice wrestler or not and so does everyone else. We have a kid in our club who has been wrestling for 4 years but still can't shoot, can't hit a basic sit-in, or switch. The only thing he can do is a stand-up and thats like pulling teeth. He is a "novice", but hes had a card for 4 years so he can't go to novice tourneys.

This has been a source of irritation for me all year. In my opinion Tournament placing mean little if the competition is not good. My son is in his second year, he does good against kids with his experience level, but against kids that have several years of experience (the kids winning the big tournaments)he loses consistently. I see these guidelines listed above in Tators post & feel they are a joke because there are so many small tournaments where if the kid wins one match he places. Now call me crazy, but to me that should not disqualify the kids from competing with similar experience & skill level kids. My son has places at 4 open tournaments this year & his record is 6-10 in Opens! From what i am reading he should not be allowed to compete at a Novice tournament. But by his record he definately should be allowed. Braxx has it right, you know where your kid should be wrestling! The rest is all arguable.