Thomas tournament

[Manfred]

I urge the powers-that-be of this tournament, and others including Johnstown's Regionals, to follow the example of this past weekend's Richland tournament. $ 8 for an ALL DAY pass which was a stamp on the hand. You could come and go, without shelling out a fortune for several admissions. I'm sure they made up for the admission with cafeteria concessions, program & bracket sales, the Lobby Tshirt vendor, and 50-50 sales. If I don't get raked over the coals on admissions, I for one am inclined to contribute or purchase in those other ways. Think about it.

[Bedford1Fan]

I respect that, but also disagree to an extent. You get what you pay for and the Bedford tournament and Regionals as a whole are much better tournaments in terms of competition. Also, wrestling programs need funded and I am fine with paying just a few extra dollars to a good cause. Just my personal view, not trying to argue or anything...I would just rather focus on and get excited for the great wrestling in 5 days!

[sportsfever145]

Thomas is a great ran tourney, but the repaying, kicking people out of the gym, the amount of people that pack into the place is and has always been one of the biggest complaints. I personally enjoy it and don't mind it because its great wrestling especially on Saturday morning (semis) and the finals.

[Bedford1Fan]

Completely agree Sportsfan, the seating is definitely a problem, but it doesn't bother me as much as other people either. I have been hearing that Easter may be bumping down soon. Does anyone know if that might happen before Thomas?

[CaptinAmerica]

Completely agree Sportsfan, the seating is definitely a problem, but it doesn't bother me as much as other people either. I have been hearing that Easter may be bumping down soon. Does anyone know if that might happen before Thomas?

As far back as i can remember there has never been enough seating so its not like seating is a new issue. As far as Easter dropping goes i dont think its going to happen. I would guess he's staying at 132. If he's not at 126 for thomas than id assume he's staying at 132 for the post-season.

[Eaglealum]

Haha listen to that? That's like saying "I've. Always had an arm growing off my forehead so it's no big deal.". I love the Thomas' competition! It's great . But my first trip 4 years ago was also my last. Bellefontes jr high tourney is incredible, they will not go above 16 teams because they don't have room for more(btw--- they got more room than Bedford ). Just some food for thought

[Lefteyelouie]

Agree, I hate going in for early rounds of Thomas due to seating issues. However a nice alternative is sitting in the auditorium and watching it on the screen with radio announced through the speakers! Not crowded in there at all and you also have padded seats and more comfortable temps.

[odoyelrules]

A few assumptions and observations:

Bedford/boosters want to max $ from the tournament.

Decreasing ticket costs would increase attendance.

Increasing ticket costs would decrease attendance.

Bedford boosters would prefer a larger gym, but Bedford school board and taxpayers aren't interested in that.

School entrance fees are the same whether a partial roster or a complete roster.

Schools want to be in the tournament, see how little the turnover is and the waiting list. It doesn't appear that schools are leaving due to the mistreatment of fans. I've talked to both Doak (Blairsville) and Mykut (Huntingdon) and neither indicated that anything negative @ Bedford was the cause for them to leave.

I'm thinking that the Richland tournament will itself grow to be a similar sized event as the Bedford tournament and that a few squads currently attending the Bedford tournament will just go to Richland.

[RidgeDad]

Thomas is a great ran tourney, but the repaying, kicking people out of the gym, the amount of people that pack into the place is and has always been one of the biggest complaints. I personally enjoy it and don't mind it because its great wrestling especially on Saturday morning (semis) and the finals.

Thomas tournament is great competition, but to say it's "a great ran tourney" I would have to disagree with. Unless you don't mind hearing Steve Creps voice being blasted over the crowd noise for 12 hours straight.

Many tournaments today now go with the "silent approach". But all tournaments run at Bedford must be done with a microphone and no where to sit.

[RidgeDad]

Agree, I hate going in for early rounds of Thomas due to seating issues. However a nice alternative is sitting in the auditorium and watching it on the screen with radio announced through the speakers! Not crowded in there at all and you also have padded seats and more comfortable temps.

Lefty, see what you can do about the school allowing fans to BYOB if they sit in the auditorium. That would definitely decrease the number of fans in the gym!