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The Monetary Cost of Wrestling
There are several kinds of fees you might encounter in your wrestling journey:
- Team/Club Fees
- Equipment Fees
- Match/Tournament Registration fees for wrestlers
- Match/Tournament Attendance fees for parents and spectators
Wrestling Team / Club Fees
There is no cost to join a scholastic or school-sponsored wrestling team (jr high, high school, etc). Your participation is typically covered through the property taxes that go toward your school taxes. Of course, there may be try-outs or wrestle offs before you make the team, once you do make the team – there is generally no team-related fees.
Clubs and travel teams usually carry a cost to join. This usually happens by season or frequency of attendance. For example, winter season may cost anywhere from $50 to several hundred, depending on the team and frequency of practice. Some let you practice every day, others are on a schedule like 3x per week.
Many club coaches also offer one-on-one or small group lessons. These are typically offered at an additional fee, but are excellent ways to accelerate your learning.
Generally speaking, the cost associated with club teams go to pay for the facilities owned or rented by the club, referees used for matches and tournaments, and travel to club events. Some clubs feature full-time coaches, with year-round schedules and hundreds of kids enrolled. Check your club team page for the cost of entry.
The Cost of Wrestling Gear
Some clubs have their own gear like singlets which bear their logo, emblem, or team name. Sometimes, that is part of club registration. Other times you’ll need to buy gear separate.
For youth wrestling, you’ll likely need the following gear:
- Wrestling shoes
- Wrestling headgear
- Wrestling singlet
Other items like wrestling mouthguards and knee pads come in handy and can help prevent injury.
For a detailed look into which gear you might need, what that might cost, and where you can buy them, visit our discussion on wrestling gear.
The Cost of Wrestling Dual Meets
Dual meets (one team vs another team) are usually held in school gyms. Since these matches are typically organized by the local schools, there are no entry fees for wrestlers to attend.
Entrance fees for parents and spectators can vary wildly. Most schools will allow students to enter at no cost, with parents or guest spectators being charged a nominal fee from just a dollar or two, up to $10 per person. Many schools do not charge for wrestling match attendance at dual meets.
The Cost of Wrestling Tournaments
Organized Scholastic Events
For wrestling matches organized by the local school, there is typically no cost for wrestlers to attend tournaments. The cost to attend or watch tournaments can vary by school and organization, and range from free to $10 per person.
Club and Non-School Related Events
Club tournaments and other non-school related events typically require a registration fee for wrestlers and attendance fees for spectatators.
Typically, registering a wrestler for a tournament will cost between $25 and $35 per tournament per wrestler. Sometimes, tournaments offer discounts for multiple family members after the first person is registered.
Larger regional tournaments and national tournaments usually feature larger fees, like $60-65 for Tulsa Nationals, and PA Powerade.
Some tournaments charge a higher registration fee for those who walk-in on wrestling day. It’s not uncommon for larger national tournaments to charge $100 for walk-in fees. Walk-ins and late registrations add additional administrative work for tournament directors who may need to redraw brackets. This can cause tournament delays and additional computer/software work. Whenever possible, early registration is the best (and least expensive) way to go!
Each registration fee covers one wrestlers for one bracket (8U 50lbs, 10u 100 lbs, etc). Those who plan to double-bracket might be required to pay twice. Tournament instructions will tell you whether double payment is required for double bracketing.
Sometimes, girls are allowed to double bracket without paying an extra registration fee, but that is not always the case. For example, a 10 year old female wrestler may choose to wrestle in a tournament under the 10u girls division and also the 10U open division with boys and girls. Those would be 2 separate brackets, likely with different wrestlers.
Parents and spectators typically pay a small fee to attend wrestling tournaments, usually $5 or less per person.
Where Does the Money Go?
Fees charged at tournaments and matches typically go to the host team or organization and helps to defray the cost of the event, which includes paying referees, table workers, concession items, etc. Any money remaining usually goes to support the wrestling club or larger regional organizations. This money helps to support the sport of wrestling at every level.
How Many Tournaments and Meets Occur Each Year?
Scholastic wrestling is a winter sport that runs between November and March with tournaments and matches starting in late November. It is not uncommon for schools to organize or attend one dual meet per week and one or two tournaments per month.
Club organizations are year-round, and matches and tournaments are offered nearly every week and weekend in areas across the country.
For elite wrestlers, it is not uncommon to travel to multiple states every month, entering tournaments across the country to wrestle the best of the best. Some clubs offer booster organizations and fundraise for team members to travel, but mostly these costs are paid by parents/guardians.
For travel tournaments, you’ll need to factor in the cost of things like hotels and meals. These costs can vary wildly depending on which area of the country you are from and to which area you need to travel.
First-year and novice wrestlers typically stay close to home while they learn the sport. There are more than enough matches and tournaments to satisfy this level of wrestling. In a typical winter season at the youth club level – you could get anywhere between 2-4 matches per tournament and go to at least one tournament each week (excluding winter holiday weekends.) That means you’re likely to encounter as many as 10 tournaments and possibly a few league matches in between. You can do the math for average cost to register and for family to attend a season like that overall. Of course, you don’t have to attend every tournament there is, but the more exposure you get to real competition the quicker you will learn and improve.
After a few years of experience, it’s typical for wrestlers to start expanding outside of their region into statewide and national competition.
Talk to your coach for recommendations on which tournaments to enter in your area and for your skill level.
Wrestling is a very inclusive sport made up of generous people who like to give back to the sport that has meant so much to them. Often times, former wrestlers will provide gifts to teams and clubs so that new and existing team members can attend matches and tournaments. Coaches and tournament directors are loathe to prevent a kid from wrestling on the account of cost or affordability and will sometimes make exceptions to the rules. Again, see your coach if cost is an issue for your family. While there is no guarantee of a gift in any situation, your coach may know of a generous team member, family, or past wrestler who likes to support current wrestlers and is willing to pay fees for you.
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