CAGWA JV K-8 & Varsity K-8 Tournament Standards

Mission
Provide a venue for youth wrestlers to compete against other wrestlers with similar years of experience in a setting similar to what they will be experiencing at the next level.  To give them an opportunity to succeed, keep them interested in wrestling and grow the sport in the state of California.

Objective
Reduce the number of wrestlers leaving the sport after one or two years due to an initial lack of success. To allow them to build confidence by wrestling kids with the same level of experience rather than finding themselves competing against much more experienced wrestlers week after week.

Qualifications
CAGWA sanctions two (2) types of Tournaments;
1.  JV K-8 ---This tournament is for first year wrestlers only, first year wrestlers that have not held a USA card or entered in any other competitive wrestling event prior to September 1, 2023. Those who participated in the U6(formerly Rookie) are exempt from this stipulation when they are in their second year in this division.  All JV wrestlers can only wrestle one weight class.
2.  Varsity K-8 ---This tournament is for any second year and beyond wrestlers that have wrestled in a tournament prior to September 1, 2023.  These wrestlers can wrestle two weight classes but not two age divisions.  No U6 wrestlers can compete in these divisions.

3.  All athletes and coaches must provide a current USA wrestling card and must be in good standing with CAGWA.

4.  League finals will require all athletes to attend 5 CAGWA tournaments and belong to a CAGWA team prior to league finals to qualify to compete.

5.  Dominator Series is exclusively for CAGWA team members but has been cancelled for the 2023-2024 season.

6.  Criteria will be used to determine sole Champion per division for Dominator Series points.

Tournament Operations
Tournaments will be available for all age groups U6, U8, U10, U12, U14 and U16(Non-High School).

A.  USA Sanctioned Tournaments in CAGWA are classified as: JV K-8 & Varsity K-8 Tournaments,

B.  Weigh-In Times: U6 and U8 6:30am -7:30 am; U10 and U12 9am- 10am; U14 and U16(Non-HS) 12pm-1pm

C.  All wrestlers will weigh-in on Sunday as posted, prior to competition.

D.  Tournaments should be run no more than 4 hours per division.
      U6 and U8 divisions should run no more than 3 hours and begin wrestling by 8:30 a.m.
      U10 and U12 divisions should begin wrestling by 11:00am
      U14 and U16 divisions should begin wrestling by 2pm

E.  No brackets larger than a 5 man Round Robin Brackets for (JV K-8 only)

F.  Wrestlers may compete in only one (1) weight class. (JV K-8 only)

G.  We will use CAGWA/ USA Wrestling Guidelines, including USA weight classes.  Pooled weight classes will be used in circumstances when there is nobody at a certain weight class and the athlete's coach or parent agrees to bump the athlete up to the next weight class.

H.  CAGWA is responsible for medals awarded but must at very least place up to 3rd place. (California Super Tournament will place up to 6th place).

I.  The tournament Director will handle any question about rules and/or eligibility on site and their decision is final.

J.  A coach or wrestler violating the Beginner's Qualifications Rule is subject up to a one (1) month plus ten (10) day suspension from all events.  Each case will be examined by the board and an appropriate reprimand imposed.  A repeat violator could face expulsion from all CAGWA events.

K.  Brackets will be posted online through trackwrestling.com tournament bracketing system for all parents, wrestlers and coaches to access and view.  

L.  If volunteer referees are used as opposed to Certified Referees, it will be the responsibility of the CAGWA Head Referee to inform and train the volunteer referees of the National Federation High School (N.F.H.S.) Rules Book rules on Infractions, Rule 7, and Penalties and Injuries, Rule 8, for the safety of all participating wrestlers. 

M.  Although most if not all wrestlers in the U6 age groups are considered all to be beginners, the U6's shall continue to participate in all JV K-8 Tournaments. 

N.  Only two individuals will be allowed in the coach's corner for each wrestler.   

O.  ALL coaches will be required to display their current USA Wrestling coaches card in a lanyard at all times while on the floor.  Lanyards will be available at the CAGWA head table.  Any person caught on the mats without proper credentials will be subject to expulsion and possibly being banned from future CAGWA tournaments.

P.  As of September 1st, 2022, compression shirts are no longer permitted to weigh-in for all athletes.



CAGWA JV K-8 & Varsity K-8 Tournament Standards

A.  Tournaments can run no fewer than four (4) full mats.  Each full mat should have a minimum boundary of wrestling area equal to or greater than an area of a 28' diameter circle which is required by NFHS rules. 

B.  It is recommended to provide a warm-up mat for each room of wrestling.

C.  The boundary of the mat, when possible, should be at least 5 feet from any physical object such as a wall, tables, bleachers, etc.

D.  Surrounding and secured to the wrestling boundaries shall be a safety mat area of at least 5 feet wide.

E.  The boundaries of wrestling must be marked on all mats.

F.  Each wrestler's coach should be provided a marked area on each mat to coach their wrestler during the competition.

G.  Splitting mats is not recommended but acceptable only as long as these guidelines are followed:
H.  The U6 and U8 age groups should be assigned to all the split mats before any other age group.  Afterwards, the lower weight classes in the U10, U12, U14 and U16(Non-HS) age groups can be assigned to a split mat.

Match Procedures
A.  3  One minute periods for all age groups. (As of Jan 1^st 2020 U14 and U16 will change to 1, 1.5, 1.5 min.periods with consolation rounds of 3/1 min. periods)

B.  Mat side bracketing will be used to speed up the tournament process.
         1.  Table help will be responsible for running multiple brackets at mat side.
         2.  Table help will be responsible for handing out medals at mat side at the conclusion of each medal match.

C.  Once a wrestler wins, the match is officially over.  Therefore, the scoring of points ends and is recorded as the official score even though the match may continue for development and mat time (Only applies to JV K-8).

D.  If either wrestler wins by a Pin or Technical Fall in the 1st Period, the match moves to the second period and begins.  The one that lost is granted choice: Neutral, Top, Bottom, or can discontinue the match. (Only applies to JV K-8)
E.If either wrestler wins by a Pin or Technical Fall in the 2nd Period, the match moves to the third period and begins.  The one that lost is granted choice: Neutral, Top, Bottom, or can discontinue the match. If one wrestler was pinned in the first period and the other wrestler pinned in the second period, either wrestler may chose to discontinue the match. (Only applies to JV K-8)
F.  If either wrestler wins by a Pin or Technical Fall in the 3rd Period, the match is over.

Criteria for Ties in Round Robin Brackets: (Applies to both JV and Varsity)
A.  Head to head in the event of a two-tie.
B.  Activity Points
     Note: Activity Points -Pins, Forfeits, Defaults, and D.Q. should all be weighted equally as it is in the N.F.H.S. Rules Book.
C.  Pins.
D.  Technical Falls
E.  Major Decisions
F.  Pin Time
G.  Technical Fall Time
H.  Match Points
 I.  In case of a three- way- tie, once the top wrestler is determined from the above criteria, then the second and third ranked wrestler will be decided on by a head-to-head competition.