02/18/15 – State Wrestling Tournament Postponed

February 18, 2015 2014-2015 News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 18, 2015

In the interest of the safety and welfare of our competitors, coaches, workers and officials, and to ensure that participation experience for the student-athletes is optimal, the KHSAA has postponed the State Wrestling Championships, originally scheduled for February 19-21, until March 9-11.

“KHSAA State events are large-scale undertakings, and with the expansion of the State Tournament several years ago, we are very limited in options for holding the event,” said Commissioner Julian Tackett. “We absolutely have to be able to put down at least eight mats to get the tournament completed in two days, and that in and of itself limits our options. We are thankful our hosting partners at the Alltech Arena on the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park were able to work out new dates. We tried to work cooperatively with another event that is scheduled for Sunday and rearrange schedules, but that group was unwilling to move, leaving us very few options.”

KHSAA Assistant Commissioner Michael Barren, who oversees the sport of Wrestling, added, “we have been able in very short order to rebook the large block of rooms we use at the official headquarters, and reschedule vendors and secure the arena on the first available three-day period for that facility. It was critical in working with the Commissioner that we make this decision as early as possible in the interest of the safety and welfare of our competitors, coaches, workers and officials. We will allow a one pound growth allowance for each of the weight classes in an additional effort to accommodate this postponement.”

Tackett stated that a great many options were reviewed before finalizing this move. “These championships are years in the making and scheduling, and it isn’t easy to simply move any of them. I know that Mike (Barren) and his tournament staff will work with the folks at Alltech Arena to get things moved in on March 9, and utilize the regular schedule for March 10 and 11, as we work to get this event completed and allow the students their well-earned opportunity to compete. I am sure from the micro-view of the many constituents, there will be second guessing and other alternatives suggested, but my job, and that of our office, is to weigh all of the factors and make the best decision we can for the entire state. The one pound growth allowance would have been a problem in the past, but with the emphasis on safe weight management, the wrestlers are required to be at or near their normal weight and should be able to maintain without issues. It will be difficult for our office to manage this event nearly simultaneously with the start of our girls’ basketball tournament, but we have successfully managed overlapping events before and will call on our legions of volunteers and workers to ensure that both events are first class for the students and all involved.”

– KHSAA –

About the Kentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was organized in 1917 and is the agency designated by the Kentucky Department of Education to manage high school athletics in the Commonwealth. The Association is a voluntary nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of 277 member schools both public and private. The KHSAA sanctions 43 state championships in 13 sports and 4 sport-activities, licenses and trains over 4,000 officials, provides catastrophic insurance for its more than 70,000 member school student-athletes, as well as overseeing coaching education and sports safety programs.