There was a funny, or maybe not so funny, episode that I observed at a tournament earlier this year. There was a very large older woman standing with her legs apart watching a match right in front of another club. You could tell from their shirts that they had a wrestler wrestling on the mat but were being polite and sitting in the bleachers. This woman though was not....she just stood wherever she wanted. She even moved over in front of the workers table before the official had her step aside. After the first period, the ladies (who had politely told her to take a knee or sit down) got so frustrated that one of them went and stood right in front of her. The lady was upset and said she couldn't see her grandson but the lady from the bleachers wasn't going to stop. She then raised her hands so she was clearly blocking this woman's view. When the woman moved, she moved too. She eventually was able to "move" this heavy and older woman over to the side of the mat and against a wall. Then she returned to her seat in the bleachers. I was an outside observer that couldn't stop laughing while I secretly cheered on the lady from the bleachers.

I'm with bockman...no saving seats! Find a spot when you get there.

I dont think we are talking about saving seats for people that are not there... we save for people that are taking bathroom breaks, breakfast/lunch time and when their kid wrestles. It's only fair to be able to return to the seat that you got when you arrived earlier that day.

I agree with you Mom. I just want to stress the point of those that think they can save an entire row hoping that the family will show up later. That happened in Ottawa last year and nobody showed up all day. Finally people just started sitting down. The lady told my wife those seats were saved. My wife just looked at her and said she has been standing for 30 minutes and nobody has showed up. She politely said if someone shows up she would move. Then the dirty looks started and more people just started sitting down. Thats when the lady yelled at another lady and the shouting match started. It was kinda funny but not really. I do agree with you going to the bathroom and coming back finding somebody sitting on your stuff. Those people need to move

I agree totally. I wasn't at Ottawa's last year.. that's crazy! No one can expect to save an entire row like that. I stress to my parents and wrestlers to get to the tournaments when we do and get your seats. They have so far. We all meet up at the gas station and follow each other... most weigh in together.. and we find our seats together. Works nice. I guess that's another reason why it frustrates me soo much when we have our seats taken!

Just got this as a message in my box....

Saving seats for the whole team and families is the problem. Stretching blankets, laying out coats, spreading bags around. Your saving too many seats. Pick a spot for your family arrange your stuff and let everyone else show up on time and find their own seats. If room allows they sit by you if not too bad, you move to their area. It is not rude no matter what time you show up and pay addmission to want a seat and enjoy youth wrestling. You have no more right to a seat based on the time you arrived. Quit being a hog and your problem is solved.

What is this??? I'm not meaning anything mean by my posts... I didn't even start this post.. I'm just chatting along with everyone else????? I'm NOT a hog!! Why have a forum if you can't voice your opinions??

Those same people that are at the tournaments that want to stomp all over your bags crush the food you have in your bags and sometimes even eat your food are probably the same people that drives me away from wanting to go to walmart with my wife you know the ones who want to stop there shopping carts right in middle of the aisle and think there the only ones in the store the ones who push there carts on the left side i mean damn its kinda like driving a vehicle push it on the right side its the same people who when you say exscuse me and they just look at you like they dont even know what that word means or how to say it. Its those people the ones who think the world revolves around them and no one else. I usually dont have to put up with all the rudness at the tournaments out there coaching but my wife does and i know it makes here mad just like every one else i just hate trying to eat a smashed banana that some one wanted to stomp and use my bag as a stepping stool or foot prop.

I say seat saving ends when weigh ins are over
what do ya think

my husband is disabled, so of course stairs are no friend to him. we've also got a large family- 3 of our 4 kids wrestle, and my stepson's mother often comes to tournaments with one or two people. then you add anywhere from 2-6 grandparents coming- that's alot of people! we've always been the people who show up at the ass crack of dawn to get seats for our group. EVERY week we've had arguments with people over the seating... our youngest just turned 4, and it's not unusual for him to lay between the bleachers and nap for a few hours. a guy went so far as to move our stuff, then when we asked for our seats back, he pointed to it down the bleachers to which I said, "no, you see that kid asleep, MY SEAT MOVE" I hate being rude, but when I get up as early as 4 am to get these seats, you're kinda asking for it.

I've come to love this crazy mixed up family, but this constant battle is wearing me, and as I see here, many of us down.

it was a nice break to go to Liberty Nationals however, I expected seating problems times a million given the turn out.. we sat in the same front row seats both days, laughed and enjoyed wrestling with our neighbors, and even cried watching the paramedics care for a brave little boy who's arm was broken. it was a nice reminder of what this is all about!

Don't feel left out. The saving of seats gets worse when you get to the high school level. At the regionals we went to to watch our child wrestle this year, one group of fans from what you could call a powerhouse in wrestling, saved a whole section and 1/2 of another. When the bleacher situation got tight with people standing for 30-45 minutes and 1/2 the saved bleachers weren't taken--people started moving in. One the fans from the powerhouse got so upset, she even went to complain to their coach. Didn't do any good, because someone else from another school went and asked if they could announce that at the regional/state level in high school, saving seats is specifically banned by the KSHSAA. Pretty tense all day for everyone involved and very distracting from the real reason we were there. I have noticed that it is also a problem at the kids level--all I ask as a mother of 4 wrestlers at every level, please be considerate. When the seats you have saved are not taken by the time the tourney starts, concede them to the parents/grandparents/fans that have no place to sit.

Are sure about that KSHSAA rule? Sounds like an urban myth to me.

Okay, I have to speak up and gripe about something. Today at the Winfield tournament, we had our bags and stuff sitting on a bleacher where our kids play between matches. We were sitting below there. There was one team, "Knox", who started at the top of bleachers and throughout the day made their way down and onto our belongings. We had to several times politely tell them that those were our seats for our kids to play, so they would not be running around. I take offense when they stomp on you bags and jackets and say nothing. By the end of the tournament "they" had us at the bottom of the bleachers. I think it was rather rude and disrespectful. It really made me mad, so I thought that I would vent on here.

We were sitting in the same general area today mcaugusta, and had a similar incident. We're a family of five and take up a little space, so we make sure we are early. About three hours into the tournament today, seconds after one of my sons got up to wrestle and another left for the restroom, these two women sat in their spots with their feet all over our stuff. After I informed them the seats were taken, I got a dirty look and they moved down to the front row moving someone elses stuff!

I know I have left several comments on this one but I have to say more about our tournament yesterday. The tournament itself was great.. ran great.. but the seats were another story. The tournament was really packed and there were people sitting out along several hallways of the school with blankets and chairs.. the bleachers were packed. Our club were packed in like sardines and had all arrived early. The family in front of ours, from our club, were taking turns sitting down in the bleachers and the commons area since there wasn't enough room for the entire. There was a club sitting next to ours... that had saved alot of rows with blankets and bags. 1/2 way thru the tournament I noticed that NO ONE ever came to fill two whole rows!!! There were a couple of people that tried sitting in them and the club said they were saved. OMG this was really frustrating considering how cramped in we all were. It's things like this that is soo disappointing in people at this tournaments. Had they not noticed all the families that were stuck out in the hallways with their kids and babies sleeping on the floors! How upsetting! I would of went out and grabbed a couple of families to fill those seats up if it was my club. BTW there were 1100 wrestlers and their families at this tournament.. one of the biggest that I've been too. But like I said it was a nice tournament... I just felt bad for the families that had to sacrifice sitting in the hallways on the floor because of people in the stands that think they have to "save" two whole empty rows for an entire day!

Same thing happened to us- went to the restroom and came back and a family of 5 had moved our stuff and sat down- we did have our blanket out to save our seats but the blanket was thrown to the floor- maybe next year they need to have a split tourny or don't allow so many enteries.

Maybe they moved your blanket because of what Mom&CoachsWife said. It still is wrong but I can see where the mis-communication can be.

As an outsider who is just reading these posts, it is interesting that there is two completely different sides and they are both bad.

1. The people who try to reserve seats using blankets and their stuff and not allowing anyone to sit in those seats all day long while others need and can't find a seat to sit. These people usually reserve whole sections for their "club or family" who never show up but refuse to let others in the area.

2. The people who move things out of the way to sit when there has clearly been people sitting there and they will be returning.

Can you see the connection?

I have not had a problem with people moving my stuff and taking my seat when I wasn't there. But I did encounter a very rude woman at high school districts. She had reserved three rows of seats for her "town fans" and wouldn't let anyone near them. And yes, she used a blanket and started to lay things on the seats like her purse, coat, shoes, ect. During the tournament, everyone was packed tight but there was this area of empty seats with the "vulture-woman" still guarding them. But all was good, we made some new friends with other people from other towns by sitting really close to them and we all had a common laugh at how ridiculous this woman was. Now, it has become an inside joke. But I do wonder if after seeing this type of "saving seats" over and over again, people get tired of putting up with the savers tactics and so resort to just moving the blankets, coats, ect away. Thus, you have people moving other people's stuff when they ARE using the seats.

I can understand that there may be a misunderstanding but in this case the club sitting next to us knew we were there and still allowed thier friends/family to move into our little space that we did have- it was clearly far enough into the tourny when this happened and we had been there for awhile. I do think that it is wrong for people to save far to many seats than needed. And I think it was disrespectful for that other club not to respect our seats.

Save the seats you will be using and make room for other people! If people would treat people the way they want to be treated I do not think that this would be that big of a problem.

thank you mom for the laugh on vulture woman. Now I hope to god that is not how my wife is come 6 and under state. We will have like 5 different families coming to watch my son wrestle. So if you see my wife doing this ummmmmmmmmmm just tell her there is no seat saving. Just dont tell her I told you that. lol. Sorry, I couldnt hold that one in. I would be more than glad to stand if someone needs a seat. I prefer to stand most of the time anyways.