State Champions Celebrations

N

new2this

Active member
There were some incredible championship final matches at all levels!!! There were also some interesting celebrations! My question is, what constitutes the referee assessing an unsportsmanlike for some celebrations, and not others? For instance, when Dillon Campbell won his match, he jogged around the mat twirling his hand- leaped into the air and swung his arms out wide and he landed (think soccer star Ronaldo) and the whole crowd unanimously goes "siiuuu". I didn't see the ref assess a penalty for this. But I did see backflips, coaches being lat dropped, dancing, flexing, among others. But it seemed like there was no rhyme or reason as to why, or when the referee hit someone for unsportsmanlike.
 
 
None of what you said sounds like it would be a penalty to me. JMO
While at the Jr. Midcals in California, I watched a kid throw up a gang sign and the parents all cheered! 🫣
I think these young men have worked their butts off for many years to get that win. As long as they don’t get personal with the celebration, does it really matter?
On the flipside, I respect a athlete that stays humble. Again JMO
 
Old&Grumpy142 said:
As long as they are not taunting (throat slit), LET THEM CELEBRATE!
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Joe Daugherty said:
None of what you said sounds like it would be a penalty to me. JMO
While at the Jr. Midcals in California, I watched a kid throw up a gang sign and the parents all cheered! 🫣
I think these young men have worked their butts off for many years to get that win. As long as they don’t get personal with the celebration, does it really matter?
On the flipside, I respect a athlete that stays humble. Again JMO
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I can't get on board with this. It's a fine line between celebrating or taunting and everyone perceives that line differently. As much as I don't want it to ever be an issue, it will be. The adults in the room, coaches/officials, need to keep it under control to prevent a negative response from happening. Do I think they should get a penalty for a yell, flex to the crowd, pointing to their family, no but I don't know how you write the rule to clearly define what is or isn't a penalty. Then you leave it up to the official's opinion of a rule and we all know how people feel about that lol.
 
I believe Jaydyn McKinney was assessed a penalty point for throwing both of her coaches. In the 140lb match Alhashash was on her knees almost in tears after winning, savoring the moment, and the official is clapping her back and pointing to the center. Geez dude chill.

LET THEM HAVE THEIR MOMENT! IT'S THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL!

If they are taunting their opponent or doing something disrespectful it's one thing otherwise let them have their 15 seconds to celebrate. It's ok to take off your official stripes at this point and let everyone enjoy the moment.
 
Train for years to even be in the final match, years of devastation, humbling losses "rankings" and potential injuries etc, youre officially number 1 in the great state of Ohio wrestling, celebrate that accomplishment. Its not that hard to be understanding of unsportsman like celebrations leading to a team point throughout the season but that last session at the Schott... cant imagine being a champion and having no emotion... that literally makes the toughest sport no fun at all. lets keep our sport fun for the kids!
 
NHFS point of emphasis 23-24....

I agree w/ most of the posts. Shulaw's backflip was awesome, he and his opponent hugged it out afterwards.

The language in the point of emphasis doesn't really define "excessive" or "over the top" so seems left up Refs to interpret and clearly, some Refs seem to have less tolerance. Taunting and harassment like for example throat slashing or breaking gestures directed at their opponent are obviously not cool, but for the most part, I say let the kids have their moment. Give them a few seconds to celebrate a moment of a lifetime that very few will ever experience.

Even the NFL came correct on this after being labeled the No Fun League...

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I think most refs purposely turned their backs...many getting their pictures taken after the match. So I think it all worked out but I also have no clue who got assessed penalties.
 
tkdn_wizard said:
How do we feel about bringing props to the mat to celebrate?
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Only if it's "excessive" AND "over the top"?

That heavy weight girl who put the crown on her head, no penalty, because it was deemed "excessive" BUT not "over the top".

Shulaw's back flip was clearly "excessive" AND "over the top" penalty.

(I thought both were awesome)
 
I just want some consistency from the officials.
Silly that some guys are getting hit for unsportsmanlike for back flips, but she can bring a prop to the mat and get her hand raised. I'm not saying either is wrong, but I am saying the officials need to figure out some things.
 
This is what I was alluding to above. Everyone has a different opinion of what is over the top or excessive. Don't take it the wrong way if I was ever good enough to be a state champion in anything I would have been taking a penalty point and probably got the stink eye from my opponent because my celebration would have been excessive and over the top 🤣 I think the coaches and officials need to be ready to step in when things start to go south. I have no problem with officials or coaches keeping things moving especially since they moved the final day to Sunday, and I just want to watch wrestling and get home at a decent time.
 
ShootNation said:
Drive a damn Ford F150 out onto the mat and do a burnout, you're the state champ
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Sounds like a small town school celebrating a first time champ. If you’re a school I follow, you gif your coaches knowing how hard you worked and celebrate with your teammates and add your name to the wall of champions.
 
I didn't see every Championship celebration, but i witnessed the majority on the boys D3 and D2 mats.

The only one that i thought came really really close to costing not one but two wrestlers a point or even a DQ was a D3 match at 215 when the Winner did a little jump and slammed his head gear into the mat forcibly . Close enough to his opponent that it caused a reaction where the kid then attempted to shove him as hard as he could just getting his finger tips on him as the winner danced away. He then refused to shake the winners hand and tried to leave the mat. All this while being forced to watch the continued celebration of the winner.
The Official just stood there and then had the arm of the loser pulling him a second to the center of the mat for the handshake.
I thought the kid was going to punch the kid at that point but he pulled himself together long enough for a half hand shake.
 
TCSoup said:
I didn't see every Championship celebration, but i witnessed the majority on the boys D3 and D2 mats.

The only one that i thought came really really close to costing not one but two wrestlers a point or even a DQ was a D3 match at 215 when the Winner did a little jump and slammed his head gear into the mat forcibly . Close enough to his opponent that it caused a reaction where the kid then attempted to shove him as hard as he could just getting his finger tips on him as the winner danced away. He then refused to shake the winners hand and tried to leave the mat. All this while being forced to watch the continued celebration of the winner.
The Official just stood there and then had the arm of the loser pulling him a second to the center of the mat for the handshake.
I thought the kid was going to punch the kid at that point but he pulled himself together long enough for a half hand shake.
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The type of situation here is why there are rules in the book around excessive celebration.
 
new2this said:
There were some incredible championship final matches at all levels!!! There were also some interesting celebrations! My question is, what constitutes the referee assessing an unsportsmanlike for some celebrations, and not others? For instance, when Dillon Campbell won his match, he jogged around the mat twirling his hand- leaped into the air and swung his arms out wide and he landed (think soccer star Ronaldo) and the whole crowd unanimously goes "siiuuu". I didn't see the ref assess a penalty for this. But I did see backflips, coaches being lat dropped, dancing, flexing, among others. But it seemed like there was no rhyme or reason as to why, or when the referee hit someone for unsportsmanlike.
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There shouldn’t be any USC calls for state title celebrations unless its directed directly to at the opponent.

DC’s Ronaldo celebration was cool.

SI’s crown was awesome as well.
 
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BHiatt said:
There shouldn’t be any USC calls for state title celebrations unless its dorected directly to at the opponent.

DC’s Ronaldo celebration was cool.

SI’s crown was awesome as well.
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Are the same celebration ceremonies allowed in football? Can the winning team all celebrate by chucking helmets on the 50 yard line because they worked as hard as the wrestlers? Sorry, I don’t get these excessive celebrations in wrestling?
 
eaglepride said:
Are the same celebration ceremonies allowed in football? Can the winning team all celebrate by chucking helmets on the 50 yard line because they worked as hard as the wrestlers? Sorry, I don’t get these excessive celebrations in wrestling?
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I'm not posting to suggest consequences for obvious celebrations in bad taste, but I am "old school", and some of the wisest words from the classiest coaches around have been, "Act like you've been here before." Just FWIW
 
eaglepride said:
Sounds like a small town school celebrating a first time champ. If you’re a school I follow, you gif your coaches knowing how hard you worked and celebrate with your teammates and add your name to the wall of champions.
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Meh, I'd much rather watch a kid celebrate winning a State Championship than watch a kid walk out in a velvet robe then proceed to get dominated while taking multiple breaks...personally my favorite was watching little man walk out with King of Buckeye...
 
tkdn_wizard said:
I just want some consistency from the officials.
Silly that some guys are getting hit for unsportsmanlike for back flips, but she can bring a prop to the mat and get her hand raised. I'm not saying either is wrong, but I am saying the officials need to figure out some things.
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I'm sure after this year there will be something coming.
 
No props. Wait until the opponent has left the outter circle before you do your flip, etc.

A short repetitive chirp of the whistle can assist in reeling a wrestler back to reality and back to the inner circle for the handshake. It's the one thing I think officials miss the boat on utilizing when dealing with these different examples.
 
Campolongo said:
No props. Wait until the opponent has left the outter circle before you do your flip, etc.

A short repetitive chirp of the whistle can assist in reeling a wrestler back to reality and back to the inner circle for the handshake. It's the one thing I think officials miss the boat on utilizing when dealing with these different examples.
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Just to play Devils advocate, why does the responsibility for this fall on an official? The match ending procedure is quite clearly spelled out in the Rule Book. There is even a special paragraph under Items of Emphasis. I have absolutely no idea what might happen or what a wrestler might do after the match. I certainly can not stop it.
IMO, the responsibility falls on the wrestler and to a lesser extent the coach.
 
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