Barger On Flonationals October Update : Speakers & Interviews

well the biggest reason i havent taken my kid out to the nhsca nationals is because of cost! several young me from our area went last season and said it wasnt ran very well and it seemed to them like they kept them there so local businesses could benefit off their stay. i really dont think a national event should soak a family for $500+ on top of flight. heck i was in hawaii where they have talented kids but they wont make a trip like that because airfare alone is upwords of 1200. to me it seems that people have caught on that our wrestling family will go above and beyond to see great wrestling. this then causes the greedy to want to rape all of us. USA greed at its best!!

i like flos approach. only thing i dislike is using the national poll to use as a basis. i feel there is a strong east coast bias in it. in alot of weights 10 out of the top25 spots are east coast. open it up to the country and invite the top kids on this poll. you then get the best of both worlds!!

yes why they have it on the same weekend of the nhsca nationals is beyond me. not good for hs wrestling ..i think everyone worth watching willbe at the nhsca in va beach

Out of state, out of season, etc. it doesn't matter to MHSAA and a few other state organizations, they'll take a year of eligibility no matter what. Especially if it is an invitation thing. They only allow "open" folkstyle tournaments or tournaments that run their own qualification and don't use the state championships as their qualification. I agree this will be awesome and I do agree it will be better than NHSCA events, but why try and compete head to head. It is quite disrespectful. I don't like what NHSCA is doing by charging an arm and a leg for their competitions. However, to deliberately place their event on the same day is crazy. I hope it all works out for the best, but it will cause conflicts and split the potential number of wrestlers between the two events. Yes NHSCA has a proven history. Whether they charge a lot of money or not, they attract the countries best to their events (plural). You see future ncaa champions and olympians wrestle at the NHSCA events. I do feel and hope that the Flonationals out does NHSCA, but I just think they should have played to their own advantage and not be so over confident about it. Again, I plan on attending the flonationals and supporting the cause because I love the idea, but I hope they iron out the wrinkles.

Is this during the Michigan state wrestling season? Why would rules apply, this is not a school sponsored event.

Also, it will be much better than NHSCA for many reasons.
1 - Location.
2 - No divisions by age, all of the talent for each weight will be in one weight class, making the championship much harder to attain.
3 - Cost, this tournament will cost much less than NHSCA's
4 - FLO, what is better for fans than constant video coverage of the best high school wrestling in the nation?
5 - Billy Barger is the man.

If this is considered a national folkstyle event I believe state restrictions do apply. I know Michigan wrestlers are not allowed to participate in the Virgina Beach nationals without penalty.

Question for Flo. If you intend on bringing the best 32 wrestlers from each weigh class, a combined 448 kids and then seat their parents, which this being a major tournament I see at least 80-90% parent turn out, and then throw in the numerous fans and coaches, do you truly believe that you will have enough room to seat and house everyone? I know you have gone over the numbers, just wondering

This is going to be sooooooo awsome. I can't wait.

Jjj about 2 hours ago.

Trusting and proven history belongs nowhere near the NHSCA. They are proven to take your money. I remember going to the finals one year and the tickets were way too pricey for a high school wrestling tournament, especially one that does not actually put all the talent together.
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I really couldnt agree more. This will be the best run tournament around, and ppl will be itching to go to it. It wont be about the money like most national tournaments.

Sounds great! I hope it builds into thee premiere HS tournament.

Trusting and proven history belongs nowhere near the NHSCA. They are proven to take your money. I remember going to the finals one year and the tickets were way too pricey for a high school wrestling tournament, especially one that does not actually put all the talent together.

This is an out of state tournament. Anyone that is invited can attend. State restrictions do not apply.

Where are the other class rankings

The fact that Michigan has that rule is the reason why you see the state of michigan quality of wrestling digressing every year. Its a stupid rule and shouldn't be acceptable.

why wouldnt several states allow there kids into this tournament? its an offseason tournament. what are you talking about elite?

this is really sweet idea... and its in OHIO where it belongs the hotbed of wrestling.

usa rankings are biased and not just east coast. there are plenty of great wrestlers that did not go to fargo, which is a major factor in their rankings.

I think you have to look at the cost of the NHSCA. What they charge to wrestle and coach has gotten out of line!!!! Flo will be much less expensive for the wrestlers, coaches and fans. They are looking out for the people. The NHSCA has used the wrestlers, coaches and fans to make a lot of money. With Bill's group they will run a first class tournament. They are also proven just like some of you are saying about the NHSCA. The Ironman is run smothly and so will Flo Nationals. I love the iedea of a tournament run by someone looking out for the growth of the sport not the all mighty dollar!

he keeps contradicting himself. how does a 9 or 10 grader get an invite if they havn't won a major tourny.

This is a great IDEA!!! Ironman implementation is second to none. FloNationals will be the same. Go FLO

I think this is an awesome idea and all the plans seem pretty plausible. Good luck with the rest of the set -up

I love flowrestling and they have a good thing going here, but there are some serious flaws that they are overlooking because they feel they are superior and on top of the wrestling world. You won't be NHSCA, several states won't allow their kids into the tournament, and your criteria really needs some work. I think you are doing it for the right reasons, but purposely conflicting with a major tournament that has a trusting and proven history is just ignorant. What is your problem?

Kind of sounds like another Ironman. I agree with putting it in the Cleveland Convocation Center and changing the date

I dont see how your going to get the best kids in the nation with it being the same week as VA beach. VA beach has been and still is the premiere postseason national folkstyle tournament. I just think they are hurting themselves by scheduling this the same weekend as seinor nationals

Yes it does.

The process won't be perfect at first. There will always be kids that maybe better wrestlers that aren't attending, but if you don't like it, go prove yourself at the national scene. There are plenty of tournaments that you can wrestle in that will allow for you to show what you have, Fargo being the main one

yes

Wrestling Fan yes its all divisions thrown together. im not clear on the criteria to get in but i know they were gonna use the usa magazine rankings to get in.

i have a little bit of a problem with that as i feel the these rankings are east coast biased. placing at any major tourney is a good qualification. there has to be a good way of drawing ALL the top kids in! suggestions from the wrestling community would help a ton!!

Just curious why this tournament can't be held in the Cleveland State University Convocation Center, seems to me that would be a great place for this caliber tournament and has the capacity for all the fans to enjoy. Kind of stinks having to sit under tables or smashed together like sardines in the Walsh gym for hours on end when we have a beautiful convo center right downtown.

Please excuse my ignorance but, what is the criteria for being invited to this tournament and are there separate divisions for age and grade or is it one single division for all High school kids? Also, flo should help champion the cause for states like Michigan who do not allow their kids to participate in events such as these.

he is locked in a cage in Austin, TX. The Godfather is building the network.

Does this conflict with the Senior Nationals at Virgina Beach?

Does anyone know where Martin has been? He is never behind any videos anymore. Where did he go?

I like it, nice plan, wish you all the best in execution of it.

Your going to need a BIG trophy, maybe with Joe's face on it, call it the MOJO trophy!

Michigan isn't the only state with these restrictions. The "invite only" clause that this tournament runs is stopping kids

the seniors can attend not the underclass men

I cant wait Billy...it will be a blast.

The problem is, you aren't going to get everyone. There are too many states that have "national championship" restrictions. Michigan is the big one. Even though the tourney is only a few hours away, when you call a tournament "National Championship", Michigan kids won't be able to attend. So you can throw out the Massas, Morses, and Niemans, because those caliber wrestlers won't be able to attend this tournament.