Comparing the receipts of the seperate venues for 4A & 5A+6A was NOT suggested as a means to prove that two sites will make more money than if they all remained in the single site; the purpose of the suggestion was a meansto see what effect removing the 4A schools has on the attendance of the combined site in Wichita.

i have to agree w/mr.elliot we as fans and dont forget that the 4a kids wrestling at state are fans to are going to miss some great things due to this unfortunate change

I understand the original intent of the suggestion to compare receipts. However, I would counter that the bottomline of the decision to combine or keep the classes seperate, will in fact, come down to a matter of dollars and sense .

Couple things here, balderdash is a goofy word, you left out Clearwater, and if you actually read my post and take the true meaning from it, you'll realize I'm talking about the schools that bring big crowds (i.e. Goodland, Colby) that are a long ways away from Wichita. You completely missed my point (and I really only want to say it once more) which was that 4a will get more spectators due to Salina being close to the middle of the state and making it less of a drive for many schools with big big followings. I must thank you for reminding me of my balderdash playing days.

State is State no matter where it is, no matter who else is there and no matter what Richard says. People who do not like the new format can stay home and leave more room for the people who don't sweat the small stuff.

Having a one-class tournament in a single site (as Hays has done for many years) is a better deal than you might think. 4As, you'll love it and since 5A and 6A are a half-class each, it works out about the same anyway in Wichita.

Enjoy

Big Mike-
Personally I feel that the 4a crowd/wrestlers think they are better than the rest of the state. Although I haven't seen any proof of that in the past 20 years. These folks are all from small towns and schools, news must travel late. As for the atmosphere, it will be just like any other invitational. The fans might be more comfortable, but the wrestlers are truly missing out. I give them 1-2 years, then they can go share the 3-2-1a state tourny in Hays. lol 4a!

Egg predicts the following:

*attendance at Salina will be greater than that at Wichita.

*if money is lost due to the split, it will be at Wichita, not Salina.

*after two years in Salina the vast majority of 4A schools and fans will fight "tooth and nail" to maintain a seperate 4A tournament.

Based on my experiences with both set-ups, the single site is better for the competitors, the coaches, the cheerleaders, etc. and believe it or not, spectators find it to be much more fan-friendly as well. We in Norton have always appreciated the 3-2-1A tournament in Hays. However, after having attended the Wichita Tournament in 2002, we returned to Hays in 2003 with a GREATLY renewed appreciation for "our" tournament.

Personally, I would like to see ALL classes together.

I didn't know Atmosphere was playing at 4a state. That's crazy, they were just in Lawrence last month too.

*attendance at Salina will be greater than that at Wichita."

I have little doubt that the attendance average will be greater at Salina. Nobody has disputed that the smaller class schools draw better than the larger ones.

*if money is lost due to the split, it will be at Wichita, not Salina."

Of course it will. At least a third of the attendance/revenue has been lost to Salina. We can fairly assume that the 5 and 6A schools will not draw any more attendance than what they were previously doing.

*after two years in Salina the vast majority of 4A schools and fans will fight "tooth and nail" to maintain a seperate 4A tournament."

This remains to be seen, but as a person who has experienced both types of state tournaments, I still prefer Wichita with it's few faults. I hope the KSHSAA does a scientific poll over the next two years of the athletes who have participated at both venues, and let that be the determining factor of which way to go in the future. As I have stated before, as much as I like coaches, their wants or opinions on this tournament subject matter little to me. My first concern is that of the athletes, then their parents and then the fans. Frankly, while there were areas where the Wichita facility needed improvement, I just can't sympathize with the other complaints, much of which just sounded like whining.

Egg - 100% Right on!

bighead - It would be an honor to share state with 3-2-1a.

It was fun watching the three classes in the finals matches, but until we have a facility that accomodates all classes we will not see all the best wrestlers under one roof. On that note, I'll gladly take a cleaner facility, faster tourney, and warmer environment that is only 35 miles away.

p.s. aaahhh coliseum memories - my son medals and btk is busted all in the same weekend.

and me eating at a spangles just down the street from the BTK house, watching all the news vans.

top THAT Salina!

Salina has Cozy Inn. I'm going there.

about the 4a being moved, its a bad thing for high school wrestling and I hope after this year it goes back to being held with 5a and 6a where it belongs. I have been a coach in the kids program for years and I think the people that run it may be smarter than the high school brain truss. the money that the so called men will make by spliting 4a from the other two will never pay the cost of renting two great places to wrestle. I hope the kids that are going to state are smarter than the brain trust that though this up. thanks

Is it just me or does it seem like the people who are complaining the most about 4A being in Salina are all from 5A and 6A schools? Is that correct?
I for one like the 3-2-1A state tournament and can't wait for the 4A in Salina. It really spotlights the championships when everyone's eyes are on the two wrestlers in the middle of the mat. Now, I just hope that some television crew tapes the events and then shows them on TV like the 3-2-1A tournament.

What we were told last year was, the colesium was going to be under construction, and would not be available for the next 2 years, so 456a needed to be changed from Wichita. They also said the price they were being charged at the colesium, they could rent two facilities for the same price, so the state found the location in Salina for 4a and were still looking for 5,6a, then the construction was put off, so it was decided to stay in Wichita. The expocenter in Salina had already been booked for two years.The brain trusts actually were trying to get better locations for a better price. On this forum the past several years there have been NUMEROUS complaints about the colesium from, smell,security,leaking toilets, sticky floors, etc...I also enjoy watching all three classes, but I hafta say, coaching in Salina will be fine with me

mom4,I think It's just you,read the post from melliott and talley.

I like the idea of one mat for the finals so that all the attention is on the finalists in each wieght. Its alot easier than trying to watch two or three matches at once. Besides any kid who makes it to the finals deserves to have the attention focused on them and not on three differnt matches. As for the colesium I hate it, its dirty and when the new arena gets built hopefully it will affordable enough to have 5a & 6a there.

I must say that part of the reason the Colliseum is so dirty is because the wrestlers there don't take to good of care for it. The workers there don't do that good of a job keeping it clean, but they may not have that problem if the wrestlers took better care of it.

Part of the reason for the crowding on the floor is bacause of the sheer numbers of people that are allowed on the floor. Allowing cheerleaders on the floor at least doubles the number of bodies down there. Managers belong there, cheerleaders don't. Allow them on the floor for the final......I still would much rather see a 4-6A tournament than splitting them up. I would really like to see a tournament with all classes in attendance. It would be awesome to be able to watch the whole state tournament in one facility, but, to be honest, with the crowds that the small schools bring, it would be hard to find anything to handle the crowd.