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The Mishawaka Wrestling Club parents and board members met at 6:30 pm, Tuesday, January 7th, 2020 in the MHS Commons
The discussion began regarding the progress of the high school and club seasons, acknowledging that the middle school season just began Monday. We have 2 home meets remaining in the high school season, a couple tournaments, as well as NIC and Sectional all within the coming month. Club has switched the January 12th tournament from Chesterton to Wabash in order to ensure our youth wrestlers experience competition with a variety of wrestlers, since they just competed in Merrillville last weekend. There is one more dual meet for our club, as well as several individual tournaments in both Indiana and Michigan before ISWA State the 2nd weekend of March.
With the website being a new resource, it was discussed at great length to utilize for future orders of team apparel, posting recorded minutes from our club meetings, registering participants for future fundraising events, and getting our PayPal account incorporated to automate payments.
Our Euchre Night fundraiser is quickly approaching. Carol Valdez and Brenda Eby have taken care of most of the planning and coordination, but have asked for help in promoting the event, securing donations for tip boards, and ensuring we have plenty of participants. We currently have 25 people signed up, but would like to have at least 40 participants. A Facebook event was created and shared, and Lisa Sandefer has offered to put a flier together to post at the wrestling door and more easily share the information publicly.
Senior Night is Thursday, January 23rd. Several options for honoring the senior wrestlers was discussed such as tables for pictures of them displayed by families, the high school band playing at the meet, and coordinating food and/or group trip to a restaurant with families after the meet.
In regard to club finances, the minimal funds we have brought in from restaurant giveback nights has been just enough to bridge the gap in some expenses. Strong numbers in club sign-ups has also helped. There remains some outstanding or upcoming expenses with Sports Image Apparel, but we will be in good shape and our Euchre Night will supplement our available funds.
High School State is Friday, February 21st and Saturday, February 22nd. A room block has been coordinated at the Omni Severin hotel downtown, but any remaining rooms in the block will be released on January 21st. Reservations must be made prior to that date to get the guaranteed group rate and are first come, first serve. A state shirt design by Bryan Tanner has been circulated and the majority preference has been a white print on a maroon shirt with options for short sleeve, long sleeve, and hoodies. Jimmy Fogarty has an alternate design in the works, and a final decision will be made once that design is made available.
The Golf Outing has been a strong fundraiser for the club over a number of years. The late August date worked well and we would like to continue that this year. Saturday, August 29th is the proposed date to secure with the Mishawaka Parks Department to utilize Eberhart Golf Course.
Summer Slam will need to be rescheduled this year if we are to host it. Independence Fest is set for Saturday, July 4th. Even if we could get the volunteers, it is “No Contact” week by IHSAA policy. Discussion around a stand-alone Summer Slam event outside of the Independence Fest was discussed and appeared to be a popular option, but a date will need to be set, likely later in July.
There will be a few opportunities for our older wrestlers to participate in summer tournaments before and after Disney Duals. The number of tournaments and dates will be announced at a future date.
We are at a pivotal moment for committing to a Disney Duals team. Due to the majority of interest coming from our underclassmen families, we are looking at a Development Team which is restricted to no wrestlers who are state qualifiers. The dates for the tournament are from Thursday, June 18th through Wednesday, June 24th. We need to solidify a roster of 17 wrestlers and confirm the participation of 3 coaches and a scorekeeper. Competition is at High School weights + 5 lb. allowances. Without the commitment of our dedicated team, refunds will need to be made to those who have deposits in, and parents who are waiting a commitment may defer to participate with another team. The anticipated cost including registration, travel, stay, and food is $1k.
An additional topic discussed which was not on the agenda is the potential for hosting a club tournament. Yancy Gradeless has looked into the requirements for hosting a HYWAY tournament, the number of volunteers necessary to successfully run it (45-50), and the various ways in which we can generate revenue for the club as part of the tournament (registrations, attendees, cooler fees, and concessions). The athletic department will be requested for availability of The Cave for either March 21st or 22nd, which is between ISWA state and HYWAY state tournaments. We will also need to know the expense for janitorial services and technical support. However, we already have the equipment available or accessible to us to host the tournament and all other expenses should be limited.
The meeting concluded at 8:15 pm
