Meeting Minutes - 7/15/2024

NCWCA Board Meeting – July 15, 2024 – In Person, Greensboro

Board Members Present: Butch Ross, Mark Harris, Byron Sigmon, Tripp Rogers, Jamie Belk, Jed Cox, Jacob Tutterow, David Perry, Billy Baker, Ben Watson.

Coach Belk facilitated our annual in-person meeting held during the NCCA Clinic week.

NCHSAA Proposals: Coach Belk began with recommendations from the April Board meeting for three proposals to be submitted to the NCHSAA. The Board agreed to move ahead with all three proposals for the fall NCHSAA Board meeting:

  1. Girls to have a minimum of 15 matches for regionals, matching the boys' requirement.

  2. Limiting girls to 55 matches per season (excluding conference tournament and postseason matches), same as match limitation for boys.

  3. Changing North Carolina blood time rule to eliminate the five-stoppage requirement and aligning our blood time rule with the NFHS.

Girls Dual Team Invitational: In February, the Board established a committee to research and propose an Invitational Girls Dual Team Championship for the 2024-25 season. The committee, in coordination with the Board and NCHSAA, has adopted the following plan:

  • Date: January 17-18. Makeup January 25.

  • Two classifications separated by fall, 2024 ADM numbers.

  • 16 teams per classification, chosen and seeded by RankWrestlers.com rankings.

  • Host Sites TBD based on qualifying teams, availability, and geography.

Rank Wrestler Update:

  • Members of our Board met with Kirk Briden and RankWrestlers.com via Zoom in May to discuss dual team rankings for girls in addition to reviewing and assessing how boys’ dual teams are ranked. RankWrestlers.com currently recommends using eleven boys to calculate dual team strength based on 14 weights.

  • The Board voted to use 10 girls (out of 12 weight classes) to calculate dual team strength for 2024-25 and to increase the number of boys to 12 (out of 14 weights) for the 2024-25 season. We will revisit the algorithm at the end of the season to determine if the calculation needs to be adjusted or remain the same.

  • The Board discussed strategies to improve the accuracy of RankWrestlers.com by removing wrestlers who are no longer competing due to injuries, eligibility, etc. A committee will be formed in the fall to coordinate with RankWrestlers.com and the NCHSAA to make individual and dual team rankings as accurate as possible.

Realignment Update:

  • Realignment from the NCHSAA is taking place this year. While it is uncertain how the change to eight classifications will affect wrestling, our Board will be proactive and work to be included in the planning process for both dual team and individual championships. A top priority for the Board is to ensure that the individual state championships remain in one venue. While recognizing the NCHSAA is not bound to accept input or recommendations from our Board, we will create and introduce plans for wrestling championship events and will seek input from the membership as we navigate this process.

  • Coach Belk and Coach Harris were able to speak briefly with a member of the realignment committee while in Greensboro to offer Board input for wrestling championships in 2025-26, the first after realignment is complete.

Miscellaneous:

  • The Coaches Association currently presents “Mat News” All-State certificates to place-winners at the state tournament. It was recommended that we update the certificates. Coach Baker suggested adding an image of Bob Mauldin to the certificate. The Board will investigate the cost and feasibility of a revised All-State certificate for the 2025 state tournament.

  • Coach Harris has posted volumes of “Mat News” on the Association’s website this summer. Currently, 10 volumes are available online with a goal of having all 45 volumes available soon.

  • Coach Rogers has created an instructional video for coaches who need help using Trackwrestling. This will be posted on the NCWCA website and distributed to the membership via email.

Annual Coaches Meeting with Membership – Greensboro Coliseum – 7/15/24

·         Jamie Belk and Tripp Rogers facilitated the meeting.

·         Coaches were encouraged to submit email addresses for inclusion in communication from the Coaches Association.

·         Members were encouraged to pay association dues, which are $30 per year.

·         Coach Belk discussed realignment and emphasized that although no one knows at this time what realignment and championships look like, the Board will be planning and preparing to make recommendations to the NCHSAA and the realignment committee next year.

·         Coach Belk updated the membership about plans for a 2025 Girls Dual Team Invitational. When asked why the duals are still an invitational and not a sanctioned event, Belk responded that we still lack the number of girls teams required (75%) for sanctioning a girls' dual championship.

·         Coach Harris updated coaches about accessing volumes of “Mat News” on the Coaches Association Website.  Currently 10 volumes are available for anyone to view.

·         Concern was expressed that the current Coaches Association Board lacks representation from all regions and classifications in North Carolina. Coach Belk discussed non-voting regional representation to the Board, which began in 2021 but has not been updated since the last Board election in July 2023.  This will be addressed in the fall NCWCA Board meeting.

Mark HarrisComment