Fargo 2011

Fargo is the largest wrestling tournament in the world. As an official-coach-wrestler it is the place to be at the end of July. This was my second trip to Fargo as an official.

USA Wrestling provides room and board for the event, and officials work for free. Officials have the opportunity to be upgraded by Fila, as well as USA wrestling for exceptional performances, and asked to sit out, or even leave for exceptionally poor performances.

There is pressure to follow procedure to the tee. If you have correct procedure, then the matches are not protestable, and everything runs smoothly. This year had very few protests, and the tournament ran very well.

Socially it is a unique event as well. You get a chance to pick the brains of the top officials in the United States about adventures they have had in wrestling. You see coaches that you respect, and have quick conversations with them. There are Olympians, NCAA champions, and famous college coaches all over the place.

I called placement, and finals matches in Cadet Women's, Cadet Greco, Junior Women's, and Junior Freestyle. I got a little rest on the two sessions that I did not work, but could not stay away and miss the wrestling.

The last final I called was the Junior 112 match. I was the judge. It is hard to tell exactly what is happening with the lower angle, and the spot lights, so it forces you to raise your level of concentration. At one point in the match, the blue wrestler was on a single leg attack moving towards the boundary. Red was at the line, and attempted to take away blues move by throwing him. At the conclusion of the sequence the referee indicated three for red. I indicated three for blue, and the chairman called for a conference. The chairman asked the referee what he saw. The referee said red took away blues move on the boundary and threw blue for three. The chairman asked me what I saw, and i agreed with what the referee had seen, and stated that the red wrestler landed out of bounds in exposure as he was attempting to take away blues move. The chairman asked red landed out of bounds, and I replied yes. We went back to our positions and the chairman confirmed three blue. The red coach threw his block asking for a video review. Our three man crew, and the review committee watched a video of the action. The video was from a terrible angle and it was hard to evaluate the action. The chairman asked me again if red landed out of bounds. The action had come towards me, and I had the best view of it. I stated that red had landed out of bounds. We were sent back to our positions. The chairman pointed to the referee, and he held up one blue. He pointed to me and I held up three blue. The chairman conferred with the committee, and confirmed three blue. Even though everyone agreed that I had gotten the call correct, I still felt bad for the referee.

I am back home after a 28 plus hour adventure in Fargo, Chicago, Washington D.C., and finally home, but that is another story.