General Information - The 2009-2010 Clash wrestling tournament will be held Friday, January 8^th and Saturday January 9^th, 2010.  As in some previous years, the tournament is being held outside of the holiday break to allow for the inclusion of teams from states that prohibit competition between Christmas and New Years.  As in the past, teams will wrestle 3 matches on each day of the tournament. 

Our goal continues to be to invite 25% of the teams from Minnesota, 25% - 35% teams from surrounding states (IA, IL, WI, NE, SD, and ND) and the remaining teams from around the country. We seek out teams that represent the top tier of wrestling from their home states and that exemplify the sportsmanship and tradition unique to wrestling. Unless you have been specifically told otherwise, each invitation is for one year only.

Competition Venue - The Clash will again be held at University Center-Rochester (UCR) field house.  The street address is: 851 30th Ave SE, Rochester MN.  The UCR campus is home to Rochester Community and Technical College and Winona State University Rochester Center. 

Competition Format – As with past years, teams will be seeded into four 8-team brackets for three “qualifying” matches on Friday.  The three matches will place the 8 teams in positions 1^st through 8^th.  On Saturday, the four teams that finished first in their brackets will be placed in a 4-team round robin bracket (called group 1) for three more matches. Likewise, the four 2^nd place teams will be grouped together into “Group 2” and so on.

Full-Roster/Best Effort - Each year our organization does its best to assemble a top-notch field of wrestling teams for this tournament.  Likewise, we expect each team competing in the Clash to put forward their best effort in this event and to avoid non-injury related forfeits.  Please decline this invitation if you do not believe that you will be able to field a full line-up during the tournament or cannot commit to putting forward your best effort.

Seeding – Seeding is based on national rankings, tournament results, team records, and head-to-head competitions.  We have independent wrestling writers from national wrestling newspapers providing input to the seeding process.  Additionally, we will try to separate teams that could possibly meet during the regular season. 

Sanctioning Activities - The Clash is sanctioned annually by the National Federation of State High School Associations (http://www.nfhs.org/).  As soon as the paperwork is completed, it will be posted on national and state sanctioning calendars.  Additionally, only schools in good standing with their State High School League or Association may participate in The Clash.

Schedule – Wrestling will be divided into two sessions each day. The morning session will have matches at 9am, 11am, and 1am and the afternoon session will have matches at 4pm, 6pm and 8pm.  16 teams will wrestle in the morning sessions and 16 teams will wrestle in the afternoon sessions.   Your positioning on the second day will be determined solely on your results from the first day.  Teams that win their first match on Friday will finish in the top half of the tournament and will wrestle Saturday afternoon.  Conversely teams that do not win their first match on Friday will be in the Saturday morning session.

Weigh Ins - Weigh-ins will be from 7-8:30am for teams wrestling in the morning and from 2-3:30 for teams wrestling in the afternoon session.  These are the only opportunities each day to make weight.  We will assign weigh-in times for teams, four at a time, during these slots based on the order in which we received your contract. 

Weight Allowances – NFHS weight classes will be used.  There will be at least a 2 pound weight allowance on the first day of the tournament.  103 pound wrestlers will need to make 105.  All wrestlers will receive another pound allowance on the second day.  (Regardless of your state’s weight policy, these are the weights that will be used.)

Tickets – Each team will receive 28 passes for the event.  These passes are for: 20 wrestlers, 6 coaches (including trainers and assistants) and 2 cheerleader chaperones.  6 cheerleaders in uniform will be allowed in for free without a pass or ticket.  Additional tickets can be purchased at the door, or online at www.clashmn.org. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for adults per session or $25 for students and $30 for adults for a tournament pass. 

Hotels – In order to coordinate local travel, you are required to stay in one of the official Clash host hotels which will be posted on the Clash website by July 1, 2009.  They will be posted on the Clash website and sent to all teams.  Host hotels agree to handle local transportation for any team flying into the tournament.  Room rates have averaged approximately $70 - $80 in previous years for up to 4 occupants.

Entry Fees – Entry fees will be $300.  If a team meets the requirements listed below, $100 of the entry fee will be returned to the team at the Coaches’ dinner the evening prior to the tournament.  Please make the check for $300 payable to “SEMWREC/Clash” and mail it to: Steven Patton, 2534 Salem Road SW, Rochester, MN 55902.   Fees are due at the time you submit your contract.  If you are unable to submit a check at this time, please make sure it is sent by September 30, 2009.

Required Information - 

1. Team website: Please send a link to your school or wrestling team’s website as soon as possible to TheClash@ClashMN.com.
2. Program and Collegiate Packet information: You will be sent a userid and password to a team registration website at the start of the wrestling season. You will be required to provide the following information at that time:
   1. A digital team picture of the wrestling team
   2. A list of wrestlers in the picture above
   3. List of Coaches with years of coaching experience.
   4. List of Managers, Cheerleaders and Cheerleading Advisor.
   5. Tentative roster for the Clash 8 with individual records and achievements (such as state tournament appearances, places finished and National Tournament experience).
   6. Any team accomplishments of note.
3. Scholar/Athlete Candidates by December 15^th. In order to recognize those wrestlers who have excelled beyond the wrestling mat, we award 10 Scholar/Athlete awards to Clash competitors.   The top five senior recipients receive $1000 college scholarships.  We require that every team submits at least one candidate.  Wrestlers may be nominated by coaches, parents, teachers, athletic directors, or even the wrestlers themselves.