We had low numbers last year so this is what we did. We had fund raisers and were able to cut the price of a wrestling card to $20.00 with the wrestling club picking up the rest. We have a swimming party and a Halloween party during the off season. We also have a float in the local parade. Probabally the most significant thing that we did was to sponsor a trip to Worlds of Fun. We are planning to make it an annual trip. The kids love it and the parents had a great time too. Some of us even made it our vacation. Worlds of Fun has great discount prices for large groups and you can go for a little more than what you spend every weekend on tournament fees.
In short we made wrestling the coolest thing in town and every kid wanted to get involved. Wouldn't it be great if we could get organized like the Girl Scouts do and have a Kansas Wrestler weekend at Worlds of Fun.
We know that some of the kids went out for wrestling just to make the trip but what they didn't know is that after their first tournament they were probabally hooked on the sport and will continue wrestling for years to come.
By the way we took our numbers from approximately 30 to over 60. Not bad for a small 2A school.

These are some really great idea's. You've sparked some neat idea's in my head for us to use next year. Thanks for your suggestions.

This is a great idea which ties in with the topic: Can we increase numbers and interest in Kansas wrestling. I think that would be a neat idea to have a Kansas Wrestlers Weekend at Worlds of Fun. You could have one day at Worlds of Fun and maybe one day at Oceans of Fun. Would anyone else be interested in this type of event in the Summer?

Hey Vince, great idea but do you have an extra room, wouldn't want to pay all of those really high prices for a motel. Then again, seeing me or you in a swimsuit going to Oceans of Fun might run some folks off.

I think some of the problem with the low numbers is the lack of information being out there. 3 years ago we really didn't know anything about the wrestling options in the area. If it wasn't for my son's football coach who wanted him to try it, we probably still wouldn't be involved. I can not believe how much he would have missed out on not being involved in this wonderful sport.

Something else to think about it starting fund raisers early. When season starts it is almost too late. I have found that the more cost you can cover for the family, the more intrested they are in joining. And if the information really needs to get out early.

I have headed up the fund-raising for both football and wrestling with great success, I would be happy to share ideas with anyone who is intrested.

Maybe we can organize a KC area wrestlers day out this summer??? That would be a lot of fun for the kids. Getting to see everyone over the summer. Maybe World's of Fun or a big cookout somewhere???

Mike,

I could find room for your family, but that would be my limit on the number of families I could accomodate. You however would not be allowed to walk around in a bathing suit. We want to promote Kansas wrestling not scare people off. Of course I would also not be allowed to walk around in a bathing suit.

Genia, Mrs. Lowe, and the person who introduced this topic:

We need to try to put this idea in motion along with some of these other promotion ideas. I am willing to spend some time this off-season working with a group of people to see if we can put some of these ideas in this topic and the topic I introduced into actually producing some increased wrestling interest and participation.

If anyone is interested in getting involved let me know, I think we need to have a meeting on this.

Vince,
Sounds good. You know I will be willing to help in any way.

Vince,

The Edisons in Wichita would help also. Just let us know.

Our family participates in the Baldwin Club and I'd like to have some guidance with fundraising strategies that would benefit the Baldwin Club as well as Kansas Wrestling. So, I'm throwing my name in the hat as a person who would appreciate a formal/informal meeting to discuss this issue.

Thanks,

Suzanne (aka, Jack's Mom)

Suzanne,
I am in Gardner...e-mail me and we will get together on the fund raising.

I am thinking about a meeting about the third weekend in April. I want to talk it over with Genia and my wife first though on the exact date and time for an initial meeting. I will get back with you (who might be interested in attending) next week on the exact date and time.

I appreciate all of you who are expressing an interest in this so far. Hopefully we can at least get a good party together for a bunch of the kids and families.