Sportsfan02, I think I did acknowledge the problem with scratches at Subs in my statement above. However, those problems are diminished ten-fold at the district tournaments and a hundred-fold by the State tourney.

From my observations, this software has delivered as the developers promised. As stated by previous posters and verified with the folks at Track Wrestling, turning “off” the ability to pre-view every detail of how the tournament is bracketed is a decision made at the tournament level. It is no different than tournaments operating in the pencil/paper world making that decision now…or the decision made to post results after tournament completion every weekend. Each tournament director has their own thoughts on these two issues. The trackwrestling.com advantage is only a tool; it is a tool not unlike the pencil and paper used previous to it.

Step back and ask why some tournaments made the choices that they have about opening up the information link to all of “us”. I think that it is quite possibly that all of “us” may not be used to having the information. Now the conversation that you heard around brackets on Saturday morning is taking place on Wednesday afternoon. Johnny should be in the B bracket. Jimmy needs to be in a different weight class because his “path” to the finals would be easier or in some cases harder. Why is my little Joie only seeded 3rd …because “everyone” knows that he beat the 2nd seed last week in tofarfromanywhere, USA? I know you have all heard these conversations and many have engaged in these conversations. Heck I will admit that I have been guilty myself. Now imagine 10% making calls to the tournament director requesting a change. This is only one of the kinks that we are working through with this valuable tool. Right or wrong sometimes too much information corrupts our thought from preparing our young wrestlers for the path ahead and switches attention on preparing the path for our young wrestlers.

All this being said, trackwrestling.com is a tool used to manage tournament entries; from seeding to bracketing and wrestler advancement through the bracket. As with most useful computer applications, its uses can and should be scalable for the job at hand. It should not be a “one size fits all” application. At present some of the tournaments using it have not chosen to use the pre-viewing option; this does not diminish all of the other practical uses that this application has afforded those who have used it.

I understand the frustration with not “starting” on time…believe me I have been there questioning “why” it just can’t work. However, I have learned to lighten up over the years and to cut those hosting the events slack on the start times listed. I will say that it has been a long time since I have been caught up in a 1 ½ hour wait…I think that would try even the most quiet nerves out there. But you have a choice as to where you go each week. If a tournament doesn’t have enough volunteers, or they over sell their venue, or are just plain incompetent (all of which have little to do with trackwrestling.com) then I would suggest taking your money someplace else next year. The good thing about the state of wrestling in our region is that there are usually 2-3 options within a short drive.

The laws of capitalism and the free market system really do work!