ATTENTION WARRIOR PARENTS, COACHES AND ALUMNI MEMBERS
REGION II TOURNAMENT
FEBRUARY 13-14, 2010
The Regional Tournament is only two weeks away, and we need everyone’s help to make it a success. We will need volunteers to work gate, concession, hospitality room, and gym.
The purpose of this letter is to answer some commonly asked questions and also provide guidance to both new and old parents on what to expect during our tournament.
Also there is the volunteer sign-up sheet available by clicking here or at the top of the page. Once you have read the information below, please email Teri Sequera (teri.sequera@adeccona.com) with time/position you would like to volunteer for.
What do you need from me?
Volunteers to provide the following (refer to sign-up sheet):
NOTE: All wrestlers not participating in the Regional Tournament will be expected to work all day Friday and Saturday. This is considered an excused absence from school.
From every family we need the following for both Friday and Saturday:
ALL |
ITEM / TIME |
Seniors Parents |
Donuts and/or Bagels (at school by 7:00am) |
Junior Parents |
Three 2-Liter Soda (at school by 10:30am) |
Sophomore Parents |
Fruit or Fruit Tray (at school by 7:00am) |
Freshman Parents |
Chips/Dip (Saturday at school by 7:00am) |
Any of the above non-perishable food items can be brought to the school on Thursday evening. Unfortunately, we do not have access to a refrigerator to keep anything cold.
What do you do with all of that food?
The school hosting the tournament provides a hospitality room. This room is open to referees, trainers, coaches, and VIP’s that are involved in the tournament. With over 240 wrestlers attending this tournament representing by 68 different schools, we will have about 150+ people that will have access to the hospitality room. Since this group of people cannot leave the school during the entire tournament, they will need to eat breakfast and lunch in this room. This is also a break room or meeting area for coaches and referees. It gets very busy between 7am-8am on Friday morning and 8am-9am on Saturday morning.
Do you provide food for the wrestlers?
We do not have enough food for the wrestlers. The concession stand will be operating the entire tournament, so you will probably want to give your son some money to purchase food from the concession stand. At the end of the tournament or a meal/night, if there is additional food left in the hospitality room we will let the wrestlers have it.
What type of food do you want?
Breakfast Casseroles – We have had various egg casseroles, breakfast taquitos, potatoes, sausage rolls, pastries, etc. ALL BREAKFAST ITEMS NEED TO BE AT THE SCHOOL BY 7AM FRIDAY OR SATURDAY.
Lunch Casseroles or Side Dishes – This has been a big hit over the last few years. They like the variety of choices. Some items that have been brought in previous years are enchiladas, pasta salad, lasagna, king ranch chicken, meatballs, BBQ smokies, chicken, brisket, etc. ALL ITEMS MUST BE AT THE SCHOOL BY 10:30AM FRIDAY OR SATURDAY.
Desserts – They will eat anything – homemade or store bought. PLEASE BRING TO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY or SATURDAY BY 10:30AM.
NOTE: The hospitality room and concession stands require a lot of food. If you know of anyone that might be willing to donate food or supplies, please let us know.
What do I do during my volunteer time?
Gate – We run two gates. One is on the second floor next to the main gym (upper gate) and the other one is on the lower floor between Gym A and B. At the gates we are selling admission to the tournament, tournament T-Shirts, and programs/brackets. The price for admission is as follows:
Admission |
Friday |
Saturday |
Adults - $9.00 per day |
white wristband |
colored wristband |
Adults - $16.00 two-day pass |
colored wristband |
colored wristband |
Students - $5.00 per day |
white wristband |
colored wristband |
Students - $8.00 two-day pass |
colored wristband |
colored wristband |
Children 5 and under Free |
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**On Saturday, there should be no one wearing a white wristband. |
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The most confusing part of running the gate (especially lower gate) is that there are coaches and wrestlers that don’t pay. To ensure that we don’t let a lot of people in free, we are going to do the following:
You will be collecting a lot of money during the day. It seems like it goes in waves. Don Sheldon or Julie Huang should be the only people that will collect money out of your cash box. If your cash box gets full or you have any questions, please call and/or text us using the following numbers:
Don Sheldon – (817) 706-0582 cell
Julie Huang – (817) 247-5514 cell
We have also asked for volunteers from the key club. They will check in at the gates. Please call Don Sheldon, so that he can assign them a task. There will be a sign-in sheet at both gates. We must have this to turn into their sponsor at the end of the tournament, so they get credit for the hours.
Concession Stand – We will have a concession stand going the entire tournament. Carlos Sequera (cell 817-372-1695) will be coordinating this effort. When you arrive for your shift, Carlos will let you know what you need to be doing. The concession stand has very busy peaks. They are normally immediately after weigh-ins, lunch, and prior to the final rounds.
Hospitality Suite – The purpose of the hospitality suite was discussed above. During your shift we will need you to set up food for the meal, keep the tables clean, and make sure that there are plenty of drinks, plates, silverware, and napkins.
The challenges that you will face for this assignment will be keeping people who are not supposed to be in the room out. (i.e. hungry Martin wrestlers) Martin also has some electrical challenges, so you need to make sure that the electrical breakers do not trip. If it does, you have to locate security or maintenance. The coordinator for the hospitality room is Theresa Cantu (cell 817-201-6943).
Gyms/Tables – Working tables is the best seat in the house. We will be teaching people how to score and run clocks during this tournament. Please take the time to learn this important skill. It will help you understand what your child is talking about. We have described each position below. If you want to learn, please go down on the floor and sit at a table. The coordinator for the gyms/tables is Robert Mizell (cell 817-939-3557).
There are at minimum 3 people at each table – Score, Clock, and towel thrower. The positions are described below:
Scoring – We have several parents and wrestlers that have scored. We will spread them out at the tables, so that new scorers will have someone to train them. The referees will put up fingers to tell you how many points you should give. You write these points on the score sheet. The person running the clock will also be watching for the referee to give points, so you will have someone to check your score. There are some additional things you have to write down, but someone will teach you.
Clock – All of our clocks have scores and time. They are digital. You will start and stop the timer based on the referees whistle and add points as the referee gives them. We have two different types of clocks. They are similar. If you arrive a little early to your shift, you will have plenty of time to be trained before starting your shift.
There are a few other things that you will need to keep up with such as “blood time”, but some one at the table will be able to explain them.
Towel Thrower – The last 10 seconds of each period you walk out on the mat and count down for the referee. When time expires you tap the referee on the shoulder. Each referee will tell you how they prefer you do it.
Runners – We must get bout sheets over to David Rakes, who will be running the brackets, as soon as possible. These people will be responsible for picking up bout sheets from the tables and also posting new brackets in the hallway. Keeping bout sheets moving keeps tournament on schedule!
What else can I do to help?
We will start setting the concession stand, hospitality room, and Gyms on Thursday afternoon as soon as school is dismissed. We will need everyone that is available to support set up, so that we will be ready for weigh in at 7:00am on Friday.
Are there any surprises?
Each year we try to improve our tournament based on lesson’s learned. There are a lot of things that we can’t control, so we adjust and move on. Some of the items that might happen are:
Key Club Volunteers – Key Club provides volunteers to help with the tournament. We are not provided a headcount prior to the tournament. Sometimes we have zero and other times we get 15. We will use them to help support unfilled assignments, replace parents that have 4-5 hour shifts, and help clean up the stands. If your child is also in Key Club, please make sure he signs the volunteer list at the gate so he receives credit for working the tournament.
Injuries – We pray that we will have a very safe tournament, but if you are working a mat with an injury please try to keep unnecessary people off of the mat. We will have a trainer available and they will assist the wrestler.
Technical Difficulties – We have occasionally had problems with some of our clocks. (You will know, because people in the stands will start screaming.) We do have a backup clock in each of the boxes at the table. The referee will help get everything moving again.
No Shows/Unprepared Workers – We need each of you! Together this tournament will be a success. When people do no show up to work the tournament, it causes delays in the matches and also forces other people to work multiple shifts. PLEASE BRING YOUR READING GLASSES. It is difficult to keep score, without being able to see the paper.
Shortage of Food – We try to estimate how much we will sell in the concession stand and use in the hospitality suite. However, each year we have surprises. We always have to make a few trips to the store to pick up extra items, but we don’t have time to recover from late delivery of breakfast or lunch items in the hospitality room. There will be a shopping list in the hospitality room and concession stand. If you are working one of these areas, please write down anything you think we need to purchase.
When does my child wrestle? Can I go watch him?
Wrestling does not have set times. It is all based on how quickly matches go on the mat he is assigned. We want every parent to see their child wrestle. Please ask your child to give you some advance notice on when they will wrestle. If there are enough people working in your area, please tell them that you are going to watch your child. If you do not have someone backing you up, please contact Don Sheldon. He will find a replacement. Please give a little advance notice. We do not want anyone to miss their child’s match.
I know that you may be overwhelmed. Please don’t let this scare you. We have all been freshman parents. Martin High School has a great reputation for our ability to put on wrestling tournaments. This has happened because of parents like you. They are a lot of work, but I think at the end you will find that you have learned about your child’s new sport, met great people, and had fun.
If you have any questions, please call and/or email Don Sheldon at (817) 706-0582 martinwrestling@tx.rr.com or Teri Sequera 817-312-4958 - teri.sequera@adeccona.com .
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND HELP.
Martin Wrestling Booster Club
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