THE OFFICIAL HOME OF THE
TAKEDOWN CLUB
Q: My child has never wrestled. Will he/she be okay?
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A: Almost every weekend, there are novice (beginner) tournaments available that our club participates in. Your child will be able to compete against other children who have very little experience as well.
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Q: What should my child wear to practice?
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A: Your child can wear shorts and a t-shirt OR he/she can wear a wrestling singlet. Most children wear shorts and a t-shirt. Your child will need wrestling shoes. Street shoes ARE NOT ALLOWED on the wrestling mats. Coach Gilstrap takes extremely good care of his mats and sanitizes them religiously after every use. He takes the health of your child's skin extremely seriously. If you child does not have wrestling shoes at the beginning of the season, he/she can wear socks until you are able to obtain a pair of wrestling shoes.
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Q: Does my child need any other equipment for wrestling?
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A: Your child will need headgear. Headgear is mandatory at some tournaments and optional at others. When optional, the coaches let the decision fall on the parents as to whether your child wears headgear.
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Q: Where can I buy headgear?
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A: Most larger sports stores like Academy, Dicks Sporting Goods, etc. have headgear. Amazon also has child and adult sized headgear.
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Q: What are the benefits from wearing/not wearing headgear whenever it is optional?
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A: Headgear will protect your child's ears and reduce the chance they develop a hematoma that leads to "cauliflower ear." However, even though it is illegal to grab/hold/pull your opponents headgear, it sometimes happens. Those that choose not to wear it will say it gives their opponents one less thing to grab on to.
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Q: When are the tournaments?
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A: Every Saturday (or occasionally Sunday) from December 1st thru Valentines Day is a good general rule. Most tournaments are on Saturday with a few exceptions. The tournaments that Miami Takedown Club are participating in are listed on our schedule under the "Schedule" tab on this website. You have the option to let your child participate as much or as little as you want. There are no team points awarded so your child's absence will not affect his/her team.
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Q: When/where are weigh-ins for the tournaments?
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A: The Miami Takedown Club was awarded the privilege of hosting remote weigh-ins every Friday night at 6pm. So, if your child is participating in a tournament on any given weekend, your child MUST weigh in either Friday night at the Miami Wrestling room at 6pm OR early the morning of the tournament AT THE TOURNAMENT SITE.
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Q: Is there a grace or weight
allowance at weight-ins?
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A: NO. If your child is 1 ounce over weight your child will wrestle at the next highest weight class. The exception is the Division V (15 & under) heavier weight classes, which will sometimes allow a 2lb weight allowance. Another exception sometimes happens after Thanksgiving and is very specific to individual tournament guidelines.
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Q: Is there an entry fee for each tournament?
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A: Yes. Each tournament has an entry fee; usually around $16-$21. The tournament fee is usually due by the Wednesday or Thursday prior to the tournament. All tournament registration fees must be paid online on this website by clicking on the menu and choosing "Tournament Registration".
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Q: What if I pay the tournament fee but then my child ends up not being able to attend the tournament?
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A: Unfortunately, the Miami Takedown Club has to submit a lump sum payment to the tournament host on Thursday evening. So even if you child ends up not being able to make it on Sat or Sun to the tournament, they have already been paid for. You will not be able to get a refund.
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Q: What should I expect at the tournaments?
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A: MOST (not all) tournaments are usually divided up by Open/Novice or by Divisions (i.e. Divisions I and III in the morning and Divisions II, IV and V in the afternoon). You'll need to arrive about 30 minutes before your child's division is set to start. Wrestlers will be warming up on the mats. Once wrestling is about to begin, the announcer will clear the mats and the bouts will begin. Almost all tournaments utilize Track Wrestling or FloWrestling for their brackets/schedule. You should familiarize yourself with these two websites as they will be your guide throughout the day. They will tell you what mat number and what match number your child wrestles next. The Miami Takedown Club tries to sit close to each other and helps each other out on making sure our wrestlers are at the correct mat at the correct time. It can be overwhelming at first but it gets easier with time.
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Q: How many matches will my child wrestle at each tournament?
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A: Well that depends on if your child wins or loses his matches. On average, I would say your child will wrestle about 3 matches for each tournament.
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Q: How long should I expect to be at the tournament?
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A: If the tournament is divided to divisions, the sessions usually run 9a-1p for the morning session and 1-4p for the afternoon session. This is a general estimation and will certainly vary depending on the layout of the tournament.
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Q: Where can I find more information about each tournament? Location, times, etc?
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A: All OKUSA tournament fliers are listed on the
OKUSA website. The schedule usually isn't published until October.
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All OKWA tournament fliers can be found on the
OKWA website. The schedule usually isn't published until October.
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Q: How can I get my OKUSA Coaches Card?
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A: Click on the "Coaches" tab on this website and follow the instructions.
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Q: How much does it cost for admission to the tournaments?
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A: Usually around $5 for adults and $3 for children. Wrestlers get free admission. Also, as mentioned earlier, anyone with an OKUSA coaches card receives free admission to OKUSA tournaments.
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Q: If Tulsa Nationals is not put on by OKWA or OKUSA, who are they affiliated with?
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A: Roller Wrestling is responsible for Tulsa Nationals. It is one of the oldest tournaments in the nation. Wrestlers come from all over the country to compete at Tulsa Nationals. Check out their website for more details. It is a very cool, but difficult tournament. Arrangements to either stay in Tulsa or drive back and forth are necessary. There will be an alternate tournament that weekend for those who do not wish to participate in Tulsa Nationals.
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Q: What should I bring to the tournaments?
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A: Your child will probably wear his singlet under his Wardog warm-up and tennis shoes. You will need to bring his wrestling shoes and headgear. If you child wants to change out of his singlet after the tournament is over, he'll need an extra change of clothes too. All tournaments I have attended so far allow you to bring an ice chest. You'll want to pack drinks and snacks. You could be there for several hours. And if the tournament isn't divided into divisions, you could be there for up to 8 hours. There is always a concession stand to purchase drinks and snacks too.
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Q: Will my child be able to leave the gymnasium in between matches?
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A: No. In most cases there will not be enough time in-between matches to leave the facility. However, you can look at Track Wrestling or FloWrestling and decide for yourself.
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Q: How long are the matches?
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A: All Division I and Novice (beginner) matches are 3 periods--each period lasting 1 minute.
Division II-V are 3 periods- each lasting 1 1/2 minutes.
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Q: How do I know what division my child is in?
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A: The divisions are based on their age as of
September 1st, 2023.
Div 1 - 6&U
Div 2 - 8&U
Div 3 - 10&U
Div 4 - 12&U
Div 5 - 15&U
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Q: Can my child wrestle in an older division?
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A: Yes.
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Q: Can my child wrestling in two divisions at the same tournament? (i.e. double dip)
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A: Sometimes they will allow this. You usually have to pay two tournament entry fees. The tournament host usually does an excellent job working around your child's matches so they do not ever miss one match while they are wrestling another match.
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Q: What are the weight classes?
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A:
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DIVISION I (SIX AND UNDER)
37, 40, 43, 46. 49, 52, 55, 60, 66, Heavy Wt.
DIVISION II (EIGHT AND UNDER)
43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 75, 83, 90, 105, Heavy Wt.
DIVISION III (TEN AND UNDER)
52, 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 73, 76, 80, 85, 90, 100, 110, 120, 131, Heavy Wt.
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DIVISION IV (TWELVE AND UNDER)
64, 67, 70, 73, 76, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96, 100, 105, 110, 120, 130, 140, 160, Heavy Wt.
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DIVISION V (FIFTEEN AND UNDER)
76, 84, 92, 100, 106, 113, 120, 126, 134, 145, 155, 170, 190, 285
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Q: If my child wrestles for Miami Jr. High, can they also still wrestle with the Miami Takedown Club?
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A: Yes! Any wrestler who meets the age requirement, usually less than 15 on September 1st, can wrestle in the youth tournaments.
Division V (15 & under) and
Division IV (12 & under).
Q: How do I register my Jr. High student to wrestle with the Miami Takedown Club?
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A: Register on this website under the Club Sign-Up tab. Use code: wardogway when signing up. There will be no charge to you. The Wardog Booster Club will cover this fee.
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Q: Will there be transportation provided for my MJHS student to and from the tournament?
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A: No. This is not a school event. You will be responsible for getting your child to and from the tournament.
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Q: Will Coach Byrne or another MPS employed coach be at the tournament to coach my
WRMS student?
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A: Coach Byrne and/or his assistants will definitely be involved in our youth program if the MJHS students are participating.
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Q: Who is the Miami Takedown Club coach?
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A: Coach is our head coach. Several other people also volunteer including Chris Mercer, Simon Shyers, Jo Beckwith, Chandler Edwards and many more. ALL our coaches and volunteers have passed background checks and underwent extensive training in areas of sexual abuse training and concussion prevention.
They all have their USA Wrestling Leadership cards.
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Q: What should my MJHS student wear to wrestle in the youth tournament?
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A: He/she can wear the MJHS Wardog singlet issued to him/her by the school. The wrestler may also wear the Miami Takedown Club singlet if they have one. Otherwise, he/she can wear any singlet, preferably blue. If he/she does not have a singlet, we can probably find one to loan him/her.
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Q: Does my MJHS student need to attend the Miami Takedown Club practices to be able to wrestle with the club on the weekend?
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A: No, attending our practice is not a requirement. We understand your student is already practicing at the school everyday. However, they are welcome to attend our practice if they would like to get an extra workout in. We practice every Tues/Thurs. I would recommend they check with their buddies to make sure someone else their size is coming too so they'll have a partner.
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Q: How can I stay up to speed on what is happening with the Miami Takedown Club?
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A: This website is a great resource. It is updated often.
You can also check out our FB page or join our Remind group at:
https://www.remind.com/join/miamitc
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Q: What (if any) Covid policies will be in place this year?
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A: The practices will be at a MPS facility rather than at NEO this year. Standard MPS Covid protocol will be followed depending what level of the risk map Ottawa County is are currently in.
Regarding each individual tournament, please refer to that specific tournament flier for more information. This is an individual sport and you are attending the tournament at your own risk.
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