Changes to the 1-2-3A state wrestling championships, a competitive season change for Southeast Conference teams and a girls wrestling state tournament for 2014-15; all will affect the high school wrestling seasons for 2014-15.
Girls State Wrestling Championship
For the 2014-15 wrestling seasons (both 1-2-3A and 4A) high school girls involved in wrestling programs will have their own separate conference and state competitions.
According to the Alaska Schools Activities Association, the following standards will be followed for 2014-15 wrestling season.
• The minimum number of girls statewide needed to trigger a state tournament in 1A-2A-3A is 100 participants and in 4A, 50 participants.
• State tournament weight classes will be as follows – 98, 106, 120, 132, 145, 160, 182, 220.
• Girls may only wrestle other girls during conference qualifying tournaments and the state tournament.
• Girls may wrestle either girls or boys during the regular season.
• All matches must be entered into TrackWrestling.
• There must be a minimum of 4 girls in a respective weight class statewide who wrestle at conference tournaments for that weight class to be included at the state tournament.
• Conference champions and others selected for at-large berths will fill the 6 person bracket, seeding using Track Wrestling.
• State tournaments will be incorporated into the respective boys tournaments.
Southeast Conference Moves To Early Competitive Season
The Southeast Conference, including large school programs in Juneau and Ketchikan, moves into the 1-2-3A calendar for high school wrestling.
The ASAA Board of Directors adopted for the 2014-15 year only, 4A school teams in Region 5 (Southeast Conference) to wrestling during the 1A/2A/3A season, including participation at the conference and state tournaments. 4A teams are not eligible for team awards. The 4A Southeast Conference berths for 2014-15 will be distributed to the Northern Lights and Mid Alaska Conferences.
1-2-3A Wrestling State Tournament Venue Change From ACS To Bartlett
After seven years of hosting the 1-2-3A state wrestling championships for ASAA, Anchorage Christian School will no longer be the host site due to a conflict involving prayer at public events.
ASAA released the following explanation:
Following the 2013 State 1A-2A-3A Wrestling tournament, hosted by ACS, ASAA received a complaint from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The complaint was based upon a public prayer delivered at the wrestling tournament just prior to the tournament finals. The complaint generally argued that because the statewide tournament is an ASAA sponsored event, ASAA as a “state actor” could not authorize or be responsible for a prayer because of constitutional establishment clause constraints.
ASAA referred the issue to its own legal counsel for evaluation and opinion. After the ASAA Board reviewed the matter at its recent meeting, it was concluded that an ASAA statewide tournament, even though hosted by ACS or other private school, is nevertheless sponsored by ASAA and is therefore subject to longstanding legal case precedent forbidding the use of prayer at an event sponsored by a public entity.
Anchorage Christian School was then informed by ASAA that a public prayer could not be used in conjunction with any future ASAA statewide tournaments. Anchorage Christian School informed ASAA they would no longer be willing to host the tournament under those circumstances.
ASAA is grateful for ACS’s undertakings to host past ASAA statewide events, and hopes that ACS will be willing to do so in the future. ASAA appreciates the Anchorage School District’s willingness to help us by allowing the tournament to be held at Bartlett High School.
The 2014 1-2-3A ASAA State Wrestling Championships will be held at Bartlett High School in Anchorage on December 12-13, 2014.