Does anyone know why Kansas decided on the birthday cutoff for divisions like they did? I am part of a group that started the Arkansas Youth Wrestling Association and we have a similar cutoff (Sep 1st), and I was curious about the reasoning behind the decided age cutoff.

Thanks,

Billy Tally

To coincide with grade levels.

some people like it some don't because of a 1yr advantage in age.

So is it better to keep the kids in the same grade levels? I was wondering the same thing. At the 6u State Championships there are kids that are 7.5 years old. At the 8u, 10u, 12u, 14u there are 9.5, 11.5 13.5 and 15.5 years old correct?

I wonder if anyone has done a case study to determine if the majority of the State Champions are typically the 1.5 year advantaged kids? Doesn't that make the kids that have late August bdays at a disadvantage? Or is it not that big of a difference. I would think a 9.5 year old wrestler has a pretty large advantage over a 7.5 year old? Or am I missing something?

The same could be true regardless of the cutoff date. Not only does the September cutoff coincide with the school year, it runs concurrent with our fiscal year. Some states that have a January cutoff require competitors and coaches to renew their cards the first of the year. This results in it taking two memberships to finish one season. While the overall cost is the same for those continuously involved, those that are wrestling for the first time would see additional costs.

So lets say the cutoff date is the day of the State Championships near the end of March every year. The kids that have a April 1st birthday would be 8 years old and 360 some odd days old. They would officially be 8 years old or less. With our current system we have kids that are 9.5 years old wrestling at 8U correct?

The cards would expire at the end of the Folkstyle Season and would need to be re-issued for Freestyle and Greco. Does that sound right?

I've always just been curious as to why 9.5 year olds are allowed to wrestle 8U or 11.5 year olds at 10U. Just doesn't seem to be a level playing field when you have a Sept. 1st bday. Just my opinion but I'm sure it was thought about way more than I have put into it.

Thanks for the feedback!

We are talking about two different issues now, birthday cutoff, and card expiration dates. They really have nothing to do with each other.

The card can be bought and expire whenever the state deems necessary, which the current August 31 is appropriate.

The age cutoff is totally separate from the card purchase dates. Why someone picked Sept. 1(which is well before the season even starts) to make the cutoff is questionable. Why not July 1? Or May 1? A better solution is to put it in the season somewhere. January 1 would make more sense than the current setup.

OK, someone had to do it, so I will be the smarta$$.....

We need a born on January 1, 2010, 46 lb clas, and a born on January 2, 2010, 46 lb weight class, etc. etc......

No matter what that date is, someone is going to be the young guy wrestling the older guys.....

When they get to HS they wrestle kids 3-4 years older than them. So wrestling kids 1.5-2 years older than them isn't going to kill them. To the contrary, I believe kids learn the most when they are wrestling the young side of their age division. But just because my kid has an august birthday (he doesn't, just hypothetically speaking here) doesn't mean that he is wrestling kids that all have Sept 1 birthdays.......

My son's birthday is "better" (by your way of thinking) in KS than it is at Liberty Nationals, Iowa FOlkstyle nationals, or any of the freestyle events, which use birth year as the date that determines your age group. A kid born on Dec 31, 2010 is disadvantaged in FS GR, by your way of thinking, and a kid born on Jan 1, 2011 has an advantage.

So move that date to whatever you want, and someone is going to be on the short end. But what about kids that are a year younger, but are mentally more mature, than the older kids? What do we do with them? Just keep the kids out until they hit high school, when most kids get mentally, and physically, more mature and the playing field is leveled.......And what might be even more important is to not let your kid hear you talk about it. If you tell a kid he is at a disadvantage, he will believe that, and use it as an excuse. Don't let your kids believe they are victims, make them believe that wrestling older kids is an opportunity to get better.... Remember, it is about life lessons, not wrestling. Employers want results, not excuses......

I believe there are tourneys around the Midwest that use 7u, 9u, 11u, etc. for age groups, if you want to try to keep your kid wrestling kids his age. Cotton Bowl is one of them if I remember correctly, Another in Nebraska I think...

Brute Nationals actually used to have a tourney for EVERY GRADE LEVEL. I took my older son to it a couple of years, and it was extremely watered down competition. The first year of that tourney, I remember people getting on the forum congratulating kids for being All-Americans (top 8) after not winning a match in a 6 man bracket. They spent 3 nights there because you weighed in on Thursday, some grades wrestled Friday, different grades wrestled Saturday, then they brought everyone back on Sunday for the finals.

I'm not saying that kids don't need to see some success, but the "everyone is a winner" mentality needs to be tempered.

SOrry for the rant.....

Thanks Doug, you did it a lot nicer than I would have. Been biting my tongue for a little bit on this topic. Thanks

My grandpa got crabbier as he got older, I must not have gotten that gene, I'm turning into an old softy......

It's been awhile since I have posted but...Doug Eck for president! and OK I guess Beeson for Vice President...

They speak the truth.

You just want to see the dossier the Dems would put together on Beeson and I...... Now THAT would be worth the price of admission......