This is a response from someone who was actually working the tables on Saturday.
Also, I have to say with Trackwrestling and utilizing First Available Mat systems, it really isn't that hard to figure out when you are up. Every kid and every coach has access to a cell phone. They can login to Track and see exactly when they are up with just the tap of a couple of menus. ISWA wrestlers and coaches use this all the time for tournaments that are considerably bigger and have longer wait times.
- extending delay in the middle of wrestlebacks -- I'm guessing the computer system went down
(we got shut down by technology because one of the tournament worker’s computer had a Malware that came up and we disconnected that computer and they let us back on. Yes, that took a little time. We were also ready to do paper bought sheets)
- seemingly random moves to different mats & a lousy PA system making it difficult to hear who's up -- I saw several kids who had no idea that there match was up NOW. Watched one kid who was still in ALL of his warmup gear, had to find his headgear & then told to spit out his gum on the scorers table.
(PA system was good, announcer was good. We wrestled first available mat, so kids had to know their bout number and all bout numbers were on the clocks. If a kid didn’t know where he was suppose to wrestle, it was HIS or his COACH’S fault for not paying attention. Bout numbers were on the programs.)
- either I should get my hearing checked or they had NO SOUND at the end of periods & relied completely on kids to tap the refs (naturally, those kids can lose focus during such a long day)
( The clocks used did not have horns so towel tappers were used. The table I was at, my kid did a FANTASTIC job. That is done at A LOT of matches and tournaments.)
- poor use of mats at the end of early rounds -- they would shut down 1 of the mats with 2 or 3 more matches remaining at the other mats
(trackwrestling assigns matches 3 deep on a mat. Once that mat has their matches done, especially if there were a few falls, then that mat was done. That gave workers a break, which no breaks were scheduled.)
- no security to keep random fans off the main floor or to keep fans from standing at the balcony rails
(Announcements were made throughout the day about people standing in front of bleachers in front of fans. I agree that a lot of the security didn’t do a lot, but announcements were made. Can’t help it that there were a few RUDE fans that didn’t care about anyone else but themselves.)
- timing & scoring equipment plugged into outlets that easily got knocked out by wrestlers, managers etc who tripped over the cords
(TWO cords got unplugged the whole day. Didn’t seem like that much of a problem. Yes, it could have been avoided, but the people setting up the mats were doing it for the first time BY THEMSELVES. They put some plugs in different places than what was done previously.)
- no programs available until just before the 9am start
(Programs were printed after weigh-ins were over, which is becoming more and more common so wonderful fans like yourself can have up-to-date brackets without having to make changes and asking questions about why is the bracket different than what is being wrestled.)
Now, if you have any more questions, or want improvements, volunteer yourself and see what REALLY goes on behind the scenes of the tournament.
Thank You!!!