The Proper Equipment for a High School Wrestling Meet

 

Summary:  As an athletic director of a high school, you have probably spent time researching the proper equipment that is needed to host various sporting events at your school.  Many, such as basketball, take little effort in terms of equipment because as long as your school’s gymnasium has a court and hoops, a basketball game can be played.  Wrestling, on the other hand, can be tricky in terms of knowing what supplies are needed to convert a high school gym into a “wrestling arena.”  Fear not.  With the proper mats, wall pads and gym divider curtains, your school will be hosting conference meets in no time.

High school sports are a serious matter in most regions of the country and as athletic programs evolve, so should their facilities and equipment.  There are many sports where in fact it’s quite easy to host a game or tournament such as basketball or football.  For basketball, there is not an overwhelming amount of equipment needed, so long as you have basketball hoops and a ball.  There are some sports, however, that as an athletic director, can be challenging to accommodate due to equipment and spacing needs.  Wrestling matches and tournaments are extremely popular and competitive amongst high schools, but do not let the daunting task of researching and purchasing the proper gymnasium equipment and mats prevent your school from hosting an event.

Depending on the state your high school is located; you have the option of getting a wide variety of mats based on their thickness, color, and size.  Most mats are either 1-inch or 1.25-inches thick and contain padding or foam to protect wrestlers against injuries due to contact with a hard surface.  Mats can be almost any color and therefore most schools will match their mat colors to their school colors.  For meets and tournaments, the mats are typically 42’x42’ and therefore having a gym to accommodates these large mats is important.  Mats unfortunately do not come cheap and, depending on their size and quality, can range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars.  Also, if you have a relatively small high school, and perhaps consequently a small wrestling team, you may only need one or two mats for practice and meets.  However, if you are an athletic director for a larger school and intend on hosting weekend tournaments, you may want to look into purchasing mats in bulk.

Because you want to take care of your mats so they can be used year after year, it may be wise to purchase gym floor covers.  Gym floor covers will help keep dirt from foot traffic off your new mats and can also provide protection to your gym floors themselves. Because wrestling tournaments can attract many of viewers, you will want to be sure you are minding the cleanliness and treatment of your equipment.

As you are planning the meet, gym wall pads should not be overlooked.  In fact, as an athletic director, coach, or maintenance manager, you should be insisting that gym wall pads are present for protecting areas where high impact sports are played including, but not limited to, wrestling, basketball and gymnastics.

Finally, if you have a large gym, but wrestling meets are competing with other sports in the high school for space; invest in a gym divider curtain.  These useful curtains act as walls in your gym and will help all the different sports cooperatively operate without impeding on each other’s space.

Sure, it’s true that there are specific items such as gym divider curtains and mats that are needed for wrestling meets and tournaments, but with some preparation and quality research, your school will be hosting meets, large or small, in no time.

Article Resource Box: For more information on gym divider curtains or gym wall pads, visit http://www.allcourtcovers.com

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