Behind the scenes at Schoolboy Duals

Just got back from Schoolboy Duals, and had a great time. I worked more than 8 hours per day, and learned plenty. Her is a list of things you may not know.

All officials work the tournament for free.

Every state that has a team must supply officials.

If you have two teams, you must supply two officials.

Most states give the officials a supplement to help cover expenses.

If you want to receive an upgrade beyond an M2, you must be evaluated at a National tournament.

Fully upgraded (M1) officials run the mats, and give training tips, as well as formal evaluations.

If you perform poorly, you can be downgraded.

The tournament provides housing, and food for the officials.

Here is a small narrative of my experience from a technical standpoint.
I caught the team bus at 5:45 at The Wrestling Academy. Helped load food and supplies for about 15 minutes. We drove to our second pick-up sight to pick up most of the team, and coaches. We arrived at Warren High School between 3:00, and 4:00. The Team stayed and got a quick workout before weigh-ins. Wolfgang (the other official) and I were basically dropped off. We worked weigh-ins, and attended the clinic before we were asked to find a ride to the hotel. We got rides with different people. I rode with a couple of guys who drove in from Pennsylvania. We stopped by the hotel, got checked in, and dropped off our stuff. We met back up to get a late dinner, and I picked up the tab so they would feel obligated to shuttle me around for the rest of the week. By the time I got back to the Hotel it was about midnight. I called Wolfgang to make sure he had gotten a room, but he had not. I gave him the number for the room that I was sharing with a high ranking official, and he slept on the floor. Needless to say I was tired, and we were due back early in the morning.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, I meet up with my new friends from PA. Morning meeting were followed by 7 duals of Greco wrestling. We called matches for about 13 hours. We broke away a few at a time to eat lunch, and dinner.

Next day had a similar schedule. Quick breakfast then a meeting at the venue. 4 rounds of Greco followed by the finals. I got to work the 3rd, 4th place match, and it was a solid dual. After a short break, we started right in with two rounds of Freestyle. It took a little bit of adjusting, but the flow of the officiating settled in quickly.

The short day was Saturday. We only had 5 rounds to officiate, and even took a true lunch break. We were back at the hotel by 8:00pm, and had a social. We ate some good food, and watched the webcast of the World Team Trials. Of course we were watching the wrestling, but we were applauding the officials as we spotted them as well.

Sunday, was a hard day. We were officiating heated matches leading up to the finals. Three of the officials on my mat were getting a specific call wrong, and even after the Mat Chairman held a conference about it, they still got the call wrong. He sat all of those officials, so I worked the rest of the dual in one of the three spots. Next dual, he talked about it again, and put everyone back into rotation. In the heavyweight match, they missed the call again twice. Fortunately no one complained. I went to check on Team Georgia, and they were almost through with the last dual. I told the Head official that he needed to take Wolfgang and I out of rotation, informed both mat chairmen that we had to leave, and shortly we were on the bus.

Favorite things from the trip.

Meeting new people with similar experience from all over the United States.

Officiating Greco matches while Kendal Cross coached the Texas team.(What does that guy know about Greco)

Being an old guy who is in the same shoes as most of the young guys.

Sharing the experience with the young guys.

Finding out what everyone did for a living.

Listening to how things are done in other states.

Learning how to become a better official.

Watching Wolfgang perform well at his first National tournament.

Everyone's sense of humor.

Karaoke on the bus on the way home.


In about 9 days, I will start the cycle again for Junior Duals. I can't wait.