Dear Coaches, Parents, and Athletes,
Sunday night our seeding committee made up of active coaches and wrestling leaders from across the state met for over four hours to work on creating brackets for the upcoming NCHSAA Women's Invitational Championships. The committee acted in good faith, applying consistent standards to seeding in each weight division, and working within the parameters we were given, with regard to 16 person brackets.
The great news was that nearly 400 women were initially entered for consideration in the Invitational registration process. That is nearly DOUBLE the participation from last year alone! The growth of women's wrestling this year has been astronomical, and is a direct credit to the efforts of many of you. Upon seeing the number of potential participants, we asked for the opportunity to include a Showcase scramble where girls who were not able to make it into the 16 person brackets would still have a chance to wrestle in the event. The NCHSAA agreed to this change in the interest of including as many girls as possible. Every participant in this weekend's upcoming event will be given a certificate of participation, a credential tag, and be recognized as a participant in the event.
The difficult part of this process was that many outstanding girls did not make the 16 person brackets. We realize this leaves some who have worked hard this season disappointed, and even angry. We, as much as any people involved, wish it did not have to be this way. Please be mindful that this event is still an Invitational event that the NCHSAA agrees to partner with the wrestling community to offer to our girls. We have not yet achieved the status of a sanctioned championship event, and as such many of the guidelines such as exact standards for record reporting, match limits, qualifying events, and formal appeals of people unhappy with the outcome are not part of this process. Also, since preliminary brackets were shared, there were some corrections made where girls' placements from last year were inadvertently left off. Those brackets have been updated and corrected. This did cause changes in a couple of weight classes. Again, The committee acted in good faith with the information they were provided from coaches and knowledgeable members of the wrestling community to create brackets, and while not perfect, the process was fair and consistent.
Please understand that the NCHSAA is a good faith PARTNER with the wrestling community in providing this Invitational competition. They are doing all they can, including offering the showcase scramble opportunity, to make this weekend a positive event for as many as possible. We ask that you be respectful in airing your grievances and be mindful that this offering from the NCHSAA is not a requirement on their part.
Ultimately we will do what wrestlers always do…. Learn and grow from this opportunity and become better in the future. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you in Bermuda Run this Friday.
NCHSAA Women's Invitational Seeding Committee
