We better shutdown flowrestling, youtube, myspace, ebay, break.com, and all of the other sites out there. Next lets all throw away our cameras, phones, video devices, photo id's and anything else that someone might be able to use. There are laws that address most if not all of what you are worried about. Wrestling tournaments are public forums and when you walk on the mat you are giving consent to be viewed. We are talking about legimate use of video and you are talking about non legitimate use. We can figure out how to make things work out and improve or we can all go in the house, shut the shades, and live in a total state of fear that something bad just might happen 1% of the time. Such paranoia has no place in my life.

I agree, Any sexual predator can pay the 5$ admission fee and tape whoever they want to get their jollys, They will also know the kids name and school. maybe we should conduct background checks on all the spectators before they are allowed to enter. I think momof4 has been watching too much oprah

Here's my 2 cents on this topic. I've never actually been able to see why someone would want to video tape someone to gain an advantage. In my opinion if your worried about what someone can do, you begin focusing on what he is likely to do on you and your entire offense shuts down. Why not stick to your own offensive gameplan and make him worry about whats coming?
However, I do not think videotaping should be banned. As a few individuals have mentioned, there are several matchups that are very camera worthy. One that definitely comes to mind is the 4a state finals matchup between Jesse Strawn and Chris Kearns 2 years ago. Another reason I think video taping is alright is there are some kids out there that are technicians and looked up to by the kids who aren't as good as them. If these kids can watch the best wrestlers, then they'll start to pick stuff up for themselves and hopefully become better wrestlers from it. I know I wouldn't have any problem being taped by people I don't know. I would actually consider it a compliment.
As far as getting Kshsaa to change this rule, I think we should first convince them to change more important rules. That's a completely different topic though.

Why...because she is a "Mom". She teaches internet safety and probably knows what happened to that 1% of what could happen. I think her information is valuable to everyone. And if some person that I didn't recognize was in the stands videotaping my kids match...I would probably ask him or her what they were doing.

Mom: What are you doing?
Videotapers response: Videotaping that match.
Mom: Why?
Videotaper: It looks like a great match.
Mom: Are you a predator?
Videotaper: No, are you?

You can see how well that would work. I am in no way downplaying the problem of predators. The internet has an anonymity that gives those freeks a hiding place. Sporting events are entirely different. Many student athletes are in love with the sport and study other wrestlers that can help them improve their skills. They buy instructional videos, attend camps, clinics and watch College wrestlers on TV. There are laws in place to pursue brain damaged perverts. This interpretation of the KSHSAA rule is spinning out of control. Give us our sport back!

Good one Chief. ROTFL re: your dialog with 'mom' above. The 'boogey-man behind every bush' syndrome. Or, as Don Henley of the Eagles put it:

"People love it when you lose . . . GIVE US DIRTY LAUNDRY..."

I promise you the number is way less than 1%, mom(s) and for wrestlers next to non-existent. Wrestlers are probably not good abduction candidates. How many high school wrestlers do you honestly think are victims of sexual abuse (well maybe a few are being taken advantage of by female teachers) but I know that number is no where near 1%. Conspiracy Theorist are alive and well, even on the wrestling talk forum! Momof4, who really shot JFK? I bet Zepruda was really a predator and that is why he was filming the parade? Lets be real.

Can anyone disagree with you without having to put up with your verbal abuse? By taking an opposing stance on any one issue a person has to endure your tirades of name calling and finger pointing. If by chance it happens to be a woman she is suddenly an "Oprah" watcher? I don't know what which you should be more ashamed of, your classless nature or being a sexist pig!

This is the problem that I am talking about. "You're an idiot, I'm not, now help me you moron." This approach does not work, and actually alienates some would be supporters who could go either way.

If Danny Hodge, Dan Gable and Gandhi came in support of this, they would now have a hard time convincing Rick Bowden and some of the people here to agree now.

If you really want to be champions of change and do good for the sport, then you need alter the approach.

Buy them out Will. I am not a rich man by any means but I will contribute all that I can.

I apologize for starting to stir it up on this post. It has gone way too far. I like doing this as a nice distraction from work but too many feelings are getting damaged which was never really anyone's intent. Lets just get back to the mat and let this issue work its way out through the proper channels.

For the record, Windy, if I asked any morons for help please excuse the requests!


THE END OF THE VIDEO TAPE GATE!

All I will say on this subject is this is another opportunity to hurt our wrestlers. I can tell you several Kansas Wrestlers who have been told that they were first seen and evaluated by College coaches by videos of them on youtube or other locations. It seems to me, any policy that hurts our kids more than helps them is wrong. It is important that the rule has been clarified, to follow it. I could say more but will leave it at that.

Shouldn't be taking the bait but I am - sorry.

No. I don't watch Oprah. Can't stand her. But I do watch the news.

No. I am not some conspiracy or overprotective mother. My kids and I have our own blogs, facebooks, and webpages.

No. I don't believe you will see youtube or any other social website go away. AND, I would actually be against it. Free speech and all that.

HOWEVER, the difference is in WHO puts the video on youtube and other social websites. WHO makes the tapes. That is the point of contention. I would be strongly against anyone making or posting information on the internet about my child (or children) without my consent or knowledge. Being in a public place and competing at a public sport does not and should not mean that you will be forever immortalized on the internet for EVERYONE to see. I understand that that the people in the crowd will watch my child wrestle. I just don't want it on the internet for the whole wide world (the good and the bad) to see without my permission and/or control. And I have the federal laws backing me up.

Curtis:

Thank you for bringing a level of logic to this whole thing. If you are prepared, what you do matters a lot more than what they do. Make them adapt and plan for you, not the other way around.

Also, yes, KSHSAA has a lot more important things to worry about than this. WAY more important.

I always thought that is why we compete in public, so others can see what we have worked so hard to achieve. the internet, being a public forum, is just another place for skills to be showcased. I do not have the time nor the money to go drive and watch my brother wrestle at home. It would be great if i could watch the duals in simulcast or replay on the internet.
by stepping onto the mat he exposes himself to the possibility of becoming famous or infamous. If he becomes part of the next humorous video fad, he will just have to deal with it, and if he begins to tear through his matches like an all-american, then people will see that too.
The internet has already become the greatest single vault of information of all time. i think it is time we start to use it to the fullest extent possible. During the Cold War nuclear physics books were removed from public libraries across the US because of the fear of someone building a dirty bomb with one. how many of the people who were checking out the books were trying to learn physics and how many were build weapons we do not know. we did however hide knowledge and information out of fear. Should we repeat this same story out of fear of sexual predators. Like the "bomb builders" the sexual predators would find other means of targeting the students if they were intent on harming them.

I like your analogy Jayhawk Pride. I have one too. Do you lock your doors at night? Do you lock them when you leave your house/apartment? Is it because you are paranoid? Or is it because you do not want any strangers in when you are not? Are you doing it because it makes you safer than not locking them? What are your chances of being robbed? Does that mean you shouldn't lock any doors? After all, in most of the cases, nobody would even know or care you didn't lock up....

Look, there is nothing wrong with having your parents videotape your brothers and streaming it on the internet or to your cell phone/ipod/blackberry. There is nothing wrong with an individual gathering all of his matches, making a highlight tape and posting it on the internet for colleges to view. In fact, I strongly encourage them to do so. My oldest son has a website set up for baseball as a way to show colleges what he has. Again, no problem.

The problem becomes when you videotape someone who is not a member of your family or team. You can't videotape someone without their knowledge and keep it for your personal use. You can't and shouldn't post any video about any minor on the internet without the parents and/or their permission. That's the law. And like it or not, there wouldn't be a federal law without some reason behind it.

It would seem to me that your son is wrestling someone from a different school. Do you have consent releases from their parents to put their child on the internet. Your child is only one half of the puzzle. Just because your kid is wrestling, according to your logic, wouldn't give you the right to put the other kid on the internet. So is it okay for your child's opponents parents to put the match they wrestled against your son on the internet without your permission. Seems like everyone's starting to walk a slippery slope.

Wow! Sounds like there is an aweful lot of law breaking going on out there. youtube, break.com, myspace are all full of federal law breakers! If what mom4 says is true, they should all be shut down immediately as they are all full of all different kinds of competition that involve minors. mom4, I have a question for you. Your oldest son that has the website set up for baseball as a way to show colleges what he has, who is he playing against? And as for your consent for the parents to stream video on the internet of the brother, who is he competing against? The individual making the highlight tape & posting it on the internet for colleges to view, who are they competing against? Sounds like there would have to be an aweful lot of waivers filled out to adhere to this federal law you are talking about. IMO Jayhawk is correct stating by stepping onto the mat he exposes himself to the possibility of becoming famous or infamous. If he becomes part of the next humorous video fad, he will just have to deal with it, and if he begins to tear through his matches like an all-american, then people will see that too.

mom4,

Your post is full of contradictions. I think this has gone way too far. We're talking about video of wrestlers. I certainly hope some AD somewhere will recommend the revocation of this rule. Why is everyone so afraid of this elusive predator? I just have a hard time believing with all the content on the net that a predator would do a search on wrestling to find a victim. That's the equivilant of waiting outside the martial arts studio and waiting for the black belts to walk out to find a victim. Just makes no sense.

When was this rule written?(What year) When was it adopted by KSHSAA? Are KSHAA rules periodically reviewed to see if they still apply or do they have to be brought to their attention by a member school?

Just a few answers to some questions...

1. my son is not competing against anyone on his website. It shows him catching and hitting. That is all.

2. You brought up a good point in the other wrestler in the videotape. so far, the law does not say anything about the other wrestler. It just says that you can not videotape an opponent who is not your own son/daughter or team. Personally, I would make sure they are not mentioned by name. This is a safety feature that most schools use when they are posting pictures of students on their websites.

Again, I am just stating the law protecting privacy for minors concerning the internet. I am not the police. Yes, there are a lot of people who post information on youtube that probably shouldn't. Just like there are a lot of people who speed when they are driving down the highway or street. But it is still against the rules. AND, if you post a video on youtube and there is problems, you are held liable as an adult. There is a lot of litigation concerning the youtube, facebook, myspace, ect. in court right now. Technology is expanding faster than our laws and morality discussions can keep up. (an example, the mother from Missouri who pretended to be a teenager on myspace and is now being held responsible for causing another teenager to commit suicide. The court is looking at what it can do to prevent this from happening again and what crimes they can charge against the mother http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/03/internet.suicide/).

Anyway, this will be my last response on this post. greatpins, if you want to respond to me personally, I will help clarify my "contradictions". I strongly suggest everyone who wants more information to do some research. If you want the law changed, you must first understand why it is there in the first place.