Don't like wrestlers cutting weight?
Try the Madison System!
by Greg DeMarco

The Madison System is used in some parts of the country to eliminate preset weight classes both in tournaments and dual meets. This prevents wrestlers from cutting weight since they don't know the weight classes until after the brackets are drawn and posted! You can take a high-tech approach and use a computer and spreadsheet to implement the Madison System or go low-tech by using weigh-in tags. This article will detail the low-tech approach. Here's how it works:

At registration, each wrestler turns in his entry form and receives a weigh-in tag which is a 3/4" x 4-1/4" slip of index stock paper. Each division is represented by a different colored tag. The person taking the entry form writes the wrestler's name and school on the far-left side of the tag. If the tournament is seeded, you would also include seeding information. The wrestler takes the weigh-in tag to the scale where his weight to the nearest pound is recorded on the far-right side of the tag. See the example below.

After the scale closes, the tags are arranged by weight from lightest to heaviest. If you decide to use 8-man brackets, the lightest eight wrestlers form the first weight class, the next eight form the second weight class and so forth. If there is too large a weight difference between the lightest and heaviest wrestlers in a particular bracket, the bracket is divided into two 4-man weight classes. Some tournaments utilize a "10-2" rule where everyone in a bracket is within 10 percent weight and two years of age. Strategically placing byes in a bracket can help the process. After the weight classes are determined, each bracket is adjusted by separating wrestlers from the same school and taking the seeding information into consideration. Once a bracket has been rearranged and checked, a long piece of transparent tape is placed over the left side of the tags. The right side indicating their weights is cut off and the tags are taped directly onto a wall chart.

Contrary to logic, each weight class is named according to the lowest weight in the bracket. This simple procedure prevents many questions such as: "Why am I in the 133-lbs bracket? I only weigh 130 pounds!" Rarely does a wrestler say, "I weigh 136 pounds. Why am I in the 133-lbs bracket?" After going through all the weight classes, a copy of the wall charts is made for the head table and the bout sheets for the first round are written. Next, the wall charts are posted and wrestling begins. In tournaments with as many as 200 participants, wrestling can begin 30 minutes after the scales close!

Aside from preventing wrestlers from cutting weight, the Madison System has other advantages. First, by putting an equal number of wrestlers in a bracket, weight classes can be wrestled in order. There is no need to start with the weight classes that require preliminary rounds. This eliminates a lot of confusion and ensures a more efficient tournament. Second, the system evens out the number of wrestlers in a weight class. In many tournaments there is often a wide range in the number of bouts it takes to win a title. If there are four wrestlers in a bracket, one would need to win just two bouts. However, a bracket with 35 wrestlers might require six victories. The Madison System eliminates that situation.

Obviously, the Madison System system can't be used for qualifying tournaments and it does have one disadvantage. You don't know how many awards to order since you don't know in advance the number of weight classes. This can be overcome by over-ordering the awards and not inscribing a date on them. The unused awards can then be presented the following year.

A Radical Thought. All non-varsity competition should utilize the Madison System! This would include junior varsity, freshmen, middle school, junior high school, youth and recreation wrestling tournaments and dual meets. Envision this scenario: Your team practices during the week and every Saturday they compete against two or more teams using the Madison System. Arrange it so that every wrestler on your squad competes in a minimum of two bouts. The advantages of this approach include: Wrestle-offs are no longer necessary; kids don't have to cut weight and everyone wrestles. Coaches can coach and wrestlers can wrestle. It doesn't get better than that! Try it, you'll like it. And keep on wrestling!