Northern New Jersey

Youth Wrestling League Concept Details

League Concept

Create a league that offers:

▪ Offer various levels of competition for all wrestlers and teams– Clinic– JV– Two levels of Varsity Competition

▪ Best -in-class end of season tournament (s)– Silver League Championship– Tournament of Champions (Gold)▪ Possible Region Champions

Organization of the New League

▪ Gold Division – Top competition from 4th-8th grade

▪ Silver Division– Teams rebuilding or smaller programs– Varsity competition , however, 2nd line-up

for stronger programs

▪ Specific division structure TBD– Based on Gold-Silver program declarations

Gold and Silver Division Criteria

▪ Any team can choose to enter the Gold Division with no questions asked

▪ Other teams can petition the board for approval to enter only the silver division

▪ Gold teams have the option to enter separate teams in both divisions

▪ Wrestler crossover/double-duty criteria next slide

Gold League Details

▪ Fixed weight classes from year-to-year (similar to Grade School Structure)

▪ Regular season matches scheduled on Thursday nights starting early December and ending mid-to-late February

▪ Teams are free to reschedule matches for a mutually convenient time which may mean a different night or a weekend tri/quad

▪ Gold team cross-region matches based upon past performance/results

Silver League Details

▪ Designed to accommodate teams with a deep line-up or thosewho are rebuilding

▪ Comprised of additional teams from larger programs, and weaker teams that finish at the bottom of their division

▪ Filling a minimum of 10 weight classes is required to be in the Silver league

▪ Weight classes for the Silver division will be determined statistically with rosters submitted by mid-November

▪ Note: Silver is not a JV League

Year End Tournament

▪ Silver year end tournament will take place the week before Gold

▪ Silver place winners will be seeded for the Gold Championship Tournament. – Seeding will be based on the previous year’s

tournament finish and head to head results from cross divisional matches where available

▪ Second and Third place finishers will be placed in the bracket at predetermined locations to keep them as far away from the other finishers in their division as possible.

▪ Extra weight classes from the Silver division will not be eligible for the Gold Tournament

Junior Varsity League

▪ Identical to Future Stars

▪ Criteria for Participation– 4 Silver wins disqualifies▪ Excludes forfeits

– 2 Gold wins disqualifies▪ Excludes forfeits

▪ Future Stars Tournament finalists invited to Silver Tournament– If scheduling permits

Clinic League

▪ Identical to KOM Novice

▪ First or second year wrestlers

▪ 5th grade or younger

▪ Jamboree style– Weight written on one hand, age on the other

▪ Year-end tournament

▪ All Clinic League wrestlers are eligible to compete in Future Stars Tournament– Same as current system

Decision & Implementation Timeline

June 2nd Concept Meeting

Gold and Silver Declarations by

July 15th

Wrestling Schedules

Released in August

Go No-Go

Out-of-Town Wrestler (OOTW) Petitions

ARTICLE 27:  OUT OF TOWN PETITIONS

▪ 2 Additional wrestlers may be added in Gold Division only, subject to committee approval, who bases decision on various general, acceptable, debatable, and unacceptable criteria

▪ The rule is subject to renewal by vote in the 2015-16 season

▪ Formation of steering committee will oversee all out-of-town wrestler petitions

General Criteria for OOTW

▪ Directors and Coaches of their respective program must submit, for consideration, a list of out-of-town wrestlers by November 15th each year

▪ Each year all outside wrestlers must receive committee approval prior to wrestling

▪ There is no grandfather rule. Each outside wrestler must be approved each year prior to the season starting. At the end of each season, outside wrestlers are no longer considered members of the NNJYWL, and must reapply the following season

▪ Out-of-town wrestlers who participate with another recreational team may not practice with the NNJYWL team, unless approved by the wrestler’s recreational team

▪ If a team has a qualified wrestler for a specific weight, they cannot substitute that weight class with an outside wrestler

Acceptable OOTW Criteria

▪ A wrestler has no program for which to compete within his/her sending district

▪ A wrestler has siblings that already participate in an out of town program

Debatable OOTW Criteria

▪ Outside wrestlers cannot be pulled from their local recreational program to wrestle for a NNJYWL team (unless approved by that local team and the NNJYWL committee)

▪ An outside wrestler cannot be recruited from another NNJYWL team without both the committee and the NNJYWL team’s approval

▪ A wrestler has a long-standing history of competing with a team

▪ A wrestler has parents that are separated and live in two different sending districts

Unacceptable OOTW Criteria

▪ A wrestler is from out of state and has never wrestled for a team in the NNJYWL previously

▪ A wrestler is leaving his recreation program due to personality conflicts with a coach

Renewal Clause & Steering Committee

▪ Renewal Clause– The Out-of-Town Petition Rule will expire in (2) years upon

completion of the 2015-2016 season, unless a league-wide vote of at least 2/3rds ‘in favor of renewal’ is passed. Upon expiration, all participants in the NNJYWL must reside within the approved sending district for their respective program.

▪ Out-of-Town Petition Steering Committee– The Out-of-Town Petitions will be submitted to a steering

committee comprised of (5) members. Two members from the former North Jersey League, two members from the former Passaic County league and the President of the league. This steering committee has final discretion over each petition.

NNJYWL Conclusion

▪ A venue for rebuilding teams to compete at a varsity level

▪ An opportunity for stronger teams to compete at (2) Varsity levels

▪ End of the year tournament and Gold Division Duals featuring the very best competition in NJ

▪ Down the Road, Duals team representing Northern Jersey that can compete at the highest level

▪ JV and Clinic Level competition