A Letter from Wes Creason, AAU Wrestling National Chair
04/16/2020
The health and well-being of our athletes is our primary concern. We feel a shift in dates gives our wrestlers, coaches and families the best opportunity to compete for a national title this summer.
Hello Coaches, Wrestlers, and Fans:
Good Morning, “May you live in interesting times” is a quote attributed to an ancient Chinese proverb, to movies in the early 1900’s or to other sources. While no one knows for sure where it originated from, the saying seems to fit our current situation this spring.
The past two months have been very interesting: with constant news updates daily and shifting predictions each week, none of us are sure, when or if, these “interesting times” will end soon.
In case you missed the info sent out previously, the following AAU Wrestling tournaments have been cancelled or rescheduled:
At this point in time, the big question remaining for the AAU Wrestling national calendar, is the AAU Scholastic Duals at Disney, in Orlando, Florida from June 18-24, 2020. Throughout the past couple months, I have spoken with numerous coaches who all share similar concerns:
Concerns:
After careful consideration of the feedback provided by coaches, parents, teams, clubs and administrators and with no guarantees the Duals tournament will be held in 6 – 8 weeks, I have decided to postpone the Duals and combine it with the AAU Junior Olympic Games Freestyle event to be held in Virginia Beach, Virginia this August 2020.
As always, the health and well-being of our athletes is our primary concern. We feel this shift in dates gives our wrestlers, coaches and families the best opportunity to compete for a national title this summer. More details regarding the event will be shared to you by May 1.
Any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy during this time.
Wes Creason
AAU Wrestling National Chair
Good Morning, “May you live in interesting times” is a quote attributed to an ancient Chinese proverb, to movies in the early 1900’s or to other sources. While no one knows for sure where it originated from, the saying seems to fit our current situation this spring.
The past two months have been very interesting: with constant news updates daily and shifting predictions each week, none of us are sure, when or if, these “interesting times” will end soon.
In case you missed the info sent out previously, the following AAU Wrestling tournaments have been cancelled or rescheduled:
- National Elementary Duals in Kingsport, Tennessee, Scheduled for May 1-3. Cancelled.
- Middle School Duals, Ninth and Tenth National Duals, Twin Rivers Junior -Senior duals and Girls Dual tournament, Scheduled for May 8-10, 2020. Cancelled.
- AAU Black Hills Nationals - cancelled for May 1-3,
Rescheduled for Oct. 21-23, 2020. New flyers will be sent.
At this point in time, the big question remaining for the AAU Wrestling national calendar, is the AAU Scholastic Duals at Disney, in Orlando, Florida from June 18-24, 2020. Throughout the past couple months, I have spoken with numerous coaches who all share similar concerns:
Concerns:
- Loss of fundraising opportunities for clubs due to the COVID-19 virus.
- The unemployment situation which affects parents’ abilities to provide funds, as well as, and including local businesses that help in sponsoring the athletes.
- With each state having their own restrictions in place, it adds to the uncertainty with building a team, or even if travel will be permitted for those teams.
- Concerns over the travel to Orlando, Florida as well as close proximity of participants in contact with 3,000 athletes and spectators during the event. Will parents feel comfortable with travel there?
- Many schools and training centers are closed with no set date for re-opening, further hampering the efforts in building, training, and organizing a team plus finding ways to fund the trip.
After careful consideration of the feedback provided by coaches, parents, teams, clubs and administrators and with no guarantees the Duals tournament will be held in 6 – 8 weeks, I have decided to postpone the Duals and combine it with the AAU Junior Olympic Games Freestyle event to be held in Virginia Beach, Virginia this August 2020.
As always, the health and well-being of our athletes is our primary concern. We feel this shift in dates gives our wrestlers, coaches and families the best opportunity to compete for a national title this summer. More details regarding the event will be shared to you by May 1.
Any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy during this time.
Wes Creason
AAU Wrestling National Chair
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