A rant
The WPIAL will hold its Class AAA wrestling championships at Norwin High School this year. And I only have one question.
Why?
I have nothing against Norwin, can't even remember being there in the last 10, 15 years. But my anger is not because of where the tournament is moving into, but where it's moving out of, Canon-McMillan. There is no better place to watch a wrestling tournament than Canon-McMillan, and I'm not saying that simply because it's a short drive from our paper.
Why is it so good?
Because it is the only gymnasium I know of that allows fans to watch the winners' and losers' bracket in the same gym. Whoever designed C-M's gym had wrestling in mind. There are two gyms shaped in a T. The top part of the T is the auxilary gym and the stem of the T is the main gym with seating for about 2,200.
You can watch the action at either gym simply by walking through the top opening of the main gym. There is no wall separating the two. That's what makes it unique. Most two-gym setups require fans to walk through sets of doors into the second gym, and into the leper colony as I like to call it, where most of the wrestlebacks are held.
The other good part about C-M is that they are very experienced in running tournaments. It is the site of Powerade, one of the largest and best tournaments in the country. Frank Vulcano and the crew do a magnificent job organizing and expediting the 935 matches.
The WPIAL had a long-standing agreement with Chartiers Valley for its tournament but that relation broke about about 10 years ago. I understand the WPIAL wants to move the event around so that other schools get an opportunity. Norwin has a beautiful gym, I'm told, but that isn't the way to judge whether it's the best place.
There is money to be made in concessions for any school that gets the event. But again, that shouldn't be the barometer, either.
If a school puts on a good tournament – and Canon-McMillan does – then why move it? Stay with what's working. It's an easy drive and the increased number of parking spaces all but eliminated its biggest drawback.
The WPIAL Championships will be in a gymnasium that's new but there is no guarantee the tournament will be improved.
Why?
I have nothing against Norwin, can't even remember being there in the last 10, 15 years. But my anger is not because of where the tournament is moving into, but where it's moving out of, Canon-McMillan. There is no better place to watch a wrestling tournament than Canon-McMillan, and I'm not saying that simply because it's a short drive from our paper.
Why is it so good?
Because it is the only gymnasium I know of that allows fans to watch the winners' and losers' bracket in the same gym. Whoever designed C-M's gym had wrestling in mind. There are two gyms shaped in a T. The top part of the T is the auxilary gym and the stem of the T is the main gym with seating for about 2,200.
You can watch the action at either gym simply by walking through the top opening of the main gym. There is no wall separating the two. That's what makes it unique. Most two-gym setups require fans to walk through sets of doors into the second gym, and into the leper colony as I like to call it, where most of the wrestlebacks are held.
The other good part about C-M is that they are very experienced in running tournaments. It is the site of Powerade, one of the largest and best tournaments in the country. Frank Vulcano and the crew do a magnificent job organizing and expediting the 935 matches.
The WPIAL had a long-standing agreement with Chartiers Valley for its tournament but that relation broke about about 10 years ago. I understand the WPIAL wants to move the event around so that other schools get an opportunity. Norwin has a beautiful gym, I'm told, but that isn't the way to judge whether it's the best place.
There is money to be made in concessions for any school that gets the event. But again, that shouldn't be the barometer, either.
If a school puts on a good tournament – and Canon-McMillan does – then why move it? Stay with what's working. It's an easy drive and the increased number of parking spaces all but eliminated its biggest drawback.
The WPIAL Championships will be in a gymnasium that's new but there is no guarantee the tournament will be improved.
posted by Joe Tuscano at
8:20 PM
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