2010 Carolina Invitational Qualifiers

W e would like to thank all of the coaches for their support this season. Three years ago there were overwhelming numbers that wanted to see qualifying tournaments set up for the Carolina Invitational. The coaches association was very happy with how things ran last year and we will continue to make positive moves for the oldest and longest running tournament in South Carolina wrestling history.

There are a few things to take note of (changes or new additions are in bold):

1. Scheduled Qualifying tournaments are held at Hillcrest, Summerville, South Pointe, Fort Mill, Lugoff-Elgin, Lexington, Bluffton, Aynor, and Byrnes.

2. There will be two automatic births given at each event per weight class except for the Bluffton and Aynor tournaments. These two events will be allowed 1 automatic birth per weight class because there are three tournament in the lower state and this helps keep a balanced bracket across the state. Summerville will qualify 2 per weight class like the other tournaments. Please remember that the qualifying tournament director has the ability to run their tournament in any format they choose to determine who the 2 qualifiers are. Examples of types of tournaments are pooled weight class, double elimination, and split brackets. Please take up any concerns you have with the qualifying tournament director. There will be no single elimination qualifiers allowed anymore.

3. Teams will be limited to attending the two qualifiers (Three in Lower State) in their area for the 2010 season. If you are in an area of the state that is in between two areas, then you must make a decision as to which qualifiers you will attend. For example, the coach in Greenwood is closest to the Lexington and BHP Qualifiers. Since those are in different areas, the coach would have to chose which one to attend and the attached tournament for that area.

   1. Area 1- Greenville- Hillcrest Tournament and Byrnes Tournament

   2. Area 2- Rock Hill- Fort Mill Tournament and South Pointe Tournament

   3. Area 3- Columbia- Lexington Tournament and Lugoff-Elgin Tournament

   4. Area 4- Lower State- Aynor Tournament, Bluffton Tournament, and Summerville Tournament.

4. Please remember that if a wrestler has already qualified, then the automatic birth will move to the next wrestler in line.

   1. Example: Lexington 80 pounder wins the Lexington tournament and qualifies for the Carolina Invitational. The next qualifier in the area at the Lugoff-Elgin tournament he wins again. At the Lugoff-Elgin tournament, the automatic births would go to the 2^nd and 3^rd place wrestlers (as long as they have not previously qualified.)

5. A wrestler that is listed as an alternate IS NOT A QUALIFER. They are simply next in line in case something happens to one of the qualifiers.

6. A wrestler could qualify at a later date if we are made aware of an injury or some other reason why a qualifier cannot attend. (EXAMPLE- started season JV, but is now full time varsity. We will remove him from the list of qualifiers and go to alternate)

7. If the wrestler qualifies at two weight classes, he and his coach will notify Tommy Bell of which weight class they intend to wrestle at the Carolina Invitational. At that point, an alternate will be selected to fill in the other weight class.

8. Coaches please remember that a varsity wrestler can only compete in 16 dates. So if they wrestle in the Carolina Invitational qualifier and the actual Carolina Invitational, they cannot wrestle in more than 14 regular season varsity dates. If they go over 16 dates for the regular season, they are ineligible to compete in post season.

9. We will use a predetermined bracket to seed at the Carolina Invitational for 2010. For example, the champion from Summerville may match up with the runner-up from Hillcrest in the first round, and so on and so on.

10. Coaches must have a SCWCA Membership to get into the hospitality room at the Carolina Invitational final.

Any questions, please e-mail Tommy Bell at tbell@greenville.k12.sc.us.