NEW: AAU FROSH/ SOPH DUAL CHALLENGE

Written by: AAU Wrestling  

It’s a new year filled with new events.  AAU Wrestling is excited to announce the addition of a new national duals competition.  The AAU Freshman / Sophomore National Dual Challenge is coming to Colorado and will be held in the Colorado Springs area on April 19th – 21, 2013.  After several years of consideration, Colorado AAU Middle School National Team Director Tom Blair has made this reality. 

For the last 5 years, Tom Blair has organized and managed the Colorado teams at the AAU Middle School National Duals in Iowa.  Tom wants to bring the same concept of competition to freshman/sophomore wrestlers and attract top quality competition for these underclassmen. 

“I’m really excited about this new event,” said Bob Johnson, AAU Wrestling National Chair.  “It goes in line with our elementary and middle school duals, with an added plus of having the event out west.” 

The idea was to find a location that would attract wrestlers and their parents to a place that is easily accessible, offers affordable accommodations and is a state supportive of wrestling.  Having this tournament in the Colorado Springs area is a perfect fit.  It is easily accessible by ground or air, affordable and offers great family attractions (Pike Peak, Air Force Academy, Olympic Training Center) 

This is a great challenge not only for the wrestlers from across the nation, but for the organizers – Tom Blair, Matt Opheim, Morgan Thompson and Tom Hudson. It is our intent to provide a high quality dual tournament, while at the same time, understanding that this will be the first year of the event and many parents, coaches and wrestlers would like to see how it goes in the first year before committing to attending.  We are hoping to have at least 20 teams from around the West and Midwest.  If all goes well and growth of the freshman / sophomore duals takes off like the AAU Middle School National Duals (which had 40 teams from around the country last year) and the AAU Scholastic Duals at Disney (which has grown to over 110 teams), this freshman / sophomore event will be one that everyone wants to attend.

Having support from coaches, parents, athletic directors and wrestling clubs across the country is paramount for making this event a success in its inaugural year and in the future. We have support from the AAU National Office, so mark your calendar and get your freshmen / sophomore wrestling teams ready for the challenge.

Event format will follow the traditional duals format set forth by AAU and have pool wrestling followed by 8 team brackets dependent upon outcome of pool wrestling with the top four teams in each bracket receiving a team award.

For more information about the AAU Fosh/Soph National Duals and how you can register your team, visit www.aauwrestling.net.  Follow AAU Wrestling on Twitter at @AAUWrestling and LIKE them on Facebook at facebook.com/realaau to stay up to date on all things AAU Wrestling.

For more information on this event, please contact Tom Blair at 970-619-0186 or trblr4@hotmail.com