WAR Zone Wrestling Competitions explained:
How a typical WAR Zone event runs:
Finding a match tutorial:
Creating an account and signing up for your first event tutorial:
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is a Weight Adjusted Rating (WAR)?
How does my Weight Adjusted Rating change?
How do wrestlers get their initial Weight Adjusted Rating?
If there are no weight classes, who will I wrestle?
How long does it take between matches?
Will I have to wrestle my teammates?
I was paired against someone that I do not want to wrestle, do I have to compete?
Will I have to weigh-in again for a 2 day event?
Will I ever be matched with someone much heavier, or much older, than me?
How do ratings work? How are they determined?
Do tokens expire? Can I use them at other events?
What if I don’t have wifi, or my cell phone dies?
I am a tournament director. How can I run a WAR Zone event?
How much money can I make running a WAR Zone?
Live Pairing is a way to create quality match-ups on the fly. Wrestlers opt-in to be paired for a match, they are then paired with an appropriate opponent based on age, weight, and skill. A text message notification is sent to both wrestlers telling them who they are wrestling and on what mat. After the match, wrestlers can repeat the process and wrestle in additional matches.
What is a Weight Adjusted Rating (WAR)?
A wrestler’s Weight Adjusted Rating is a precise measurement of their skill level. It is updated after every match.
How does my Weight Adjusted Rating change?
Your rating will increase when you gain weight and when you win matches; your rating will decrease when you lose weight and when you lose matches. The amount of points you gain or lose depends upon the rating of the wrestler you face. The entire system becomes more accurate as we get more data on all of the wrestlers.
How do wrestlers get their initial Weight Adjusted Rating?
When registering for the first time, parents rate their child. We then take all wrestlers within 10% of their age and 4% of their body weight, and put them in order by Weight Adjusted Rating. This is how we figure out how to best slot each wrestler initially. This is all done by hand by someone who cares! We want to place children as accurately as possible to avoid mismatches. If a parent lies about the skill level of their child, we are able to quickly figure this out and put the child where they belong. There is no way to lie more than once, so sandbagging is not possible. Anyone caught creating multiple accounts for the same wrestler will be disqualified without refund, and potentially banned from competing.
If there are no weight classes, who will I wrestle?
You will be paired with opponents close to you in age, weight, and skill. It’s as if you have your own division that centers around you.
How long does it take between matches?
The average wait time after requesting a match is 20 minutes, but it can happen much quicker.
The pairing pool is a list of all wrestlers who are currently looking for a match. The person first in line will be paired with someone who is an appropriate match in age, skill, and weight. You may be paired when you get to the front of the line (with the best matchup for you), or while you wait in line (you are the best matchup for the person at the front of the line).
Will I have to wrestle my teammates?
The tournament director controls whether or not teammates can be paired; at large enough events, two teammates will never be paired. You can still request challenge matches against teammates if you like.
I was paired against someone that I do not want to wrestle, do I have to compete?
No, you do not have to compete and it will not count as a forfeit on your record. You can cancel the match on the same page where you “find a match”. The person you cancelled with will will skip to the front of the pairing pool line for immediate repairing.
No, to discourage weight-cutting, we do not allow early weigh-ins. Weight-cutting does not provide any competitive advantage at a WAR Zone events! You’re going to get highly competitive matches regardless of your age, weight, and skill. Be prepared to wrestle opponents who are just as good as you!
Will I have to weigh-in again for a 2 day event?
Yes, in order to prevent weight cutting and keep matchups fair, you must weigh-in each day.
Will I ever be matched with someone much heavier, or much older, than me?
No. The tournament director has control of the maximum age/weight differentials. At large tournaments, the maximum weight differential will probably be 1-2% of body weight. We suggest a maximum age differential of 20%, but it is up to the tournament director. If you are paired with someone heavier than you, or older than you, they will have a lower skill rating than you do; we balance age/weight against skill to keep things fair. You can always decline a match if you think it is inappropriate.
How do ratings work? How are they determined?
Your rating goes up when you win and down when you lose, depending upon the rating of the person you wrestle (beating a higher rated opponent will gain more points than beating a lower rated opponent). Ratings become increasingly accurate as wrestlers complete more matches.
What a rating difference means:
A 100 point or less WAR difference will be a highly competitive match where both wrestlers have a great chance to win.
A 200 point WAR difference will be a competitive match where one wrestler is slightly favored, but the underdog still has a good chance of winning
A 400 point WAR difference will be a challenging match for the lower rated wrestler, but still winnable if he puts on a great performance. We try to avoid pairing wrestlers who are more than 400 points apart.
An 800 point or more WAR difference will be a mismatch. The lower rated wrestler will have no realistic chance of winning, regardless of how hard he tries. This will be a cat with a mouse, and avoiding these match-ups is the reason we built WAR Zone in the first place. You can still challenge a wrestler rated substantially higher than you, but we will not force you to wrestle one.
Do tokens expire? Can I use them at other events?
No, your tokens never expire; you can use your tokens to get into any WAR Zone event.
It sounds like you’re eliminating tough matches. Is this an “everyone gets a medal”, wussification of America, type of thing?
No, the opposite; WAR Zone will provide tougher matches! The toughest matches aren’t against opponents far from your skill level; they are against equally skilled opponents, where willpower and grit are the deciding factors. The toughest matches go to overtime, or are won 8-7, or involve comebacks… A beginner going up against an expert isn’t a tough match for either of them, but an exciting overtime match will leave both wrestlers exhausted with something to feel proud about. You can issue a “challenge match” if you want to test your mettle against someone far better than you.
What if I don’t have wifi, or my cell phone dies?
If you cannot use your phone to access the competition, the tournament director is able to manually add you. You do not need your phone to compete, but it makes the experience more enjoyable.
I am a tournament director. How can I run a WAR Zone event?
Click here for more information about hosting a WAR Zone Wrestling Competition: /bring-war-zone-region/
How much money can I make running a WAR Zone?
Checkout our WAR Zone Financial Analysis Calculator
We will provide a full token refund for anyone who decides they cannot make an event. Tokens never expire and can be used at any event. To receive a refund, send an email to [email protected] with the wrestler’s full name and the event that you can’t make. If we are new to your region, and there aren’t any upcoming events, we will refund your cash. There is a $10 penalty if you cancel in the last 24 hours before an event. Please fill out this short form to request a refund