2011 Carolina Invitational Qualifiers
W e would like to thank all of the coaches for their support this season. Four years ago there were overwhelming numbers that wanted to see qualifying tournaments set up for the Carolina Invitational. The coaches association was very happy with how things ran last year and we will continue to make positive moves for the oldest and longest running tournament in South Carolina wrestling history.
There are a few things to take note of (changes or new additions are in bold):
Scheduled Qualifying tournaments are held at Hillcrest, Summerville, South Pointe, Fort Mill, Lugoff-Elgin, Lexington, Bluffton, Marion, and Byrnes.
The Carolina Invitational will be held at Lexington High School on Saturday, January 22nd. A make-up date for inclement weather has been set for Saturday, January 29th if needed.
If a qualifier tournament is cancelled and cannot be made up, then the other qualifying tournament from that area will be used to determine who gets those qualifying spots. (For example, the Byrnes Qualifier gets cancelled and cannot be made up. Then we will go to the Hillcrest 3rd and 4th place finishers in each weight and use them as qualifiers)
There will be two automatic births given at each event per weight class except for the Bluffton and Marion tournaments. These two events will be allowed 1 automatic birth per weight class because there are three tournament in the lower state and this helps keep a balanced bracket across the state. Summerville will qualify 2 per weight class like the other tournaments. Please remember that the qualifying tournament director has the ability to run their tournament in any format they choose to determine who the 2 qualifiers are. Examples of types of tournaments are pooled weight class, double elimination, and split brackets. Please take up any concerns you have with the qualifying tournament director. There will be no single elimination qualifiers allowed anymore.
Teams will be limited to attending the two qualifiers (Three in Lower State) in their area for the 2010 season. If you are in an area of the state that is in between two areas, then you must make a decision as to which qualifiers you will attend. For example, the coach in Greenwood is closest to the Lexington and BHP Qualifiers. Since those are in different areas, the coach would have to chose which one to attend and the attached tournament for that area.
Area 1- Greenville- Hillcrest Tournament and Byrnes Tournament
Area 2- Rock Hill- Fort Mill Tournament and South Pointe Tournament
Area 3- Columbia- Lexington Tournament and Lugoff-Elgin Tournament
Area 4- Lower State- Marion Tournament, Bluffton Tournament, and Summerville Tournament.
Please remember that if a wrestler has already qualified, then the automatic birth will move to the next wrestler in line.
Example: Lexington 80 pounder wins the Lexington tournament and qualifies for the Carolina Invitational. The next qualifier in the area at the Lugoff-Elgin tournament he wins again. At the Lugoff-Elgin tournament, the automatic births would go to the 2nd and 3rd place wrestlers (as long as they have not previously qualified.)
A wrestler that is listed as an alternate IS NOT A QUALIFER. They are simply next in line in case something happens to one of the qualifiers.