UtahWrestling.org Web Site Celebrates First Anniversary

UtahWrestling.org, official Web site of the Utah Wrestling Coaches Association, has been online for more than a year.  In that time, it has grown to become the source for Utah wrestling information.  Since its inception in October 2003, the site has grown in the number of visitors going to the site, as well as participation from coaches, athletes and parents, submitting tournament and/or dual meet results, letters to the editor, and event dates.  In January 2005, the site had its greatest number of visitors yet — 7,584 visits.  This is a drastic increase from 2,901 visits during the same month a year earlier.

"This year has been a great experience," said Bill Kilpack, editor of UtahWrestling.org.  "Coaches have been sending me information, as well as parents.  Last year, the number of people participating could be counted on one hand.  And, last year, I had one coach call me to scream and swear at me about what a horrible job I was doing.  Now, I have coaches calling and e-mailing me to thank me and tell me that it's their favorite Web site.  It's quite a turnaround.  And it's all because of the increased participation from coaches, parents and athletes.  It's not physically possible for me to be everywhere.  So, for this to work, I had to have help statewide.  It's been happening, thus far.  I think that things will only continue to improve."

In addition to providing information for upcoming tournaments, the site provides results and rankings by the state organization, as well as by UtahWrestling.org itself.  Local and national media come to the site to gather information and contact Kilpack for information about events, programs and athletes.

"It's the phone calls and e-mails about athletes that are the most gratifying," Kilpack said.  "Utah wrestling has a lot to offer. We have quality athletes who are every bit as qualified and worthy of college scholarships as any other state in the nation.  In a recent issue of Wrestling USA Magazine, eight Utah seniors were ranked nationally.  That's down from the 13 in the preseason rankings from 2003.  This tells me that the magazine did not know enough about our Utah athletes.  This sells short the work that coaches in Utah put into the sport, as well as the work of the athletes themselves.  It also does Utah wrestlers no favors when it comes to college scholarships.  It has always been my goal to help alleviate these problems."

In addition to the 162 percent growth in visits, highlights have included support from the online wrestling community nationwide.  This includes linking to UtahWrestling.org.  In January 2005, the site was referenced on an online wrestling forum through USA Wrestling and, as a result, it was the biggest single source of traffic for the month.  The next biggest source of traffic was the Northridge High School wrestling link on the page for the Layton, Ut., team site.  Third was the Web site for Jordan Freestyle Wrestling (now Mountain Top Wrestling Club), an independent freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling program operated through Salt Lake County Recreation.

In addition to providing results, UtahWrestling.org last year named Utah Wrestlers of the Year in association with Wrestling USA Magazine, and participated in post-season state rankings for the spring Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling season.  This will continue, as well as the implementation of new programs, like the voting conducted prior to the Utah Wrestling All-Star Match, where people got to weigh in on how they thought the meet would turn out.

"It's very gratifying to have the participation and support of the parents," Kilpack said.  "It's amazing to have averaged about 245 visits a day.  Not bad for a sport being cut by colleges.  It's information like this that can help the people making those decisions realize that support for wrestling is stronger than they think.  The new program at Utah Valley State College is a perfect example.  That resulted from grassroots support and an open-minded administration."

Wrestling USA Magazine has been the voice of national high school wrestling since 1965. For more information, see www.wrestlingusa.com. American Adrenaline Magazine started in 2004, and is dedicated to becoming the national voice of youth wrestling. For more information, see www.americanadrenaline.com.

Kilpack is editor of UtahWrestling.org, a past AAU national champion, a seven-time national silver medalist, an AAU All-American, and earned an alternate position on the U.S. Pan-Am Team in Greco-Roman. He is Utah Editor for both Wrestling USA Magazine and American Adrenaline Magazine. He coaches an independent freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling program through Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation, Mountain Top Wrestling Club.