Minnesota native Tim Shiels was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Meritorious Official in the summer of 2021. Shiels, the current national coordinator of officials for the NCAA, joined the Hall of Fame Legends podcast to talk about the honor and his career.
The Annual Wrestling Officials’ Clinic will be held on October 26th at Simley High School – 2920 80th Street East, Inver Grove Heights.
The clinic will be held in conjunction with the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Clinic.
This clinic provides an excellent opportunity to meet and discuss wrestling officiating with officials throughout the state. If you are looking to join an association, there will be representatives there to talk to.
After 35 years as an official, everything came full circle.
Randy Sokoloski was honored on Jan. 17 between the Fairmont/Martin County West Red Bulls’ dual meets with the St. James Area Saints and the Luverne Cardinals in Sherburn. It wasn’t the first time Sokoloski attended a meet with the Cardinals.
“My wife Kim reminded me, my career started against Luverne in the one match I got my first year,” Randy said. “And last year in the sectionals, my last match was against Luverne.”
Sokoloski got into officiating after finishing his prep wrestling career and getting married. He said becoming an official now is different from when he started. Continue reading at www.fairmontsentinel.com
The Annual Wrestling Officials’ Clinic will be held on October 28th at Simley High School at 2920 80th Street East, Inver Grove Heights. Registration is from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM with the rules meeting at 8:30. The clinic will end by 12:30 PM with no lunch provided. There is no cost!
The clinic will be held in conjunction with the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Clinic. It will start with a joint session of the NFHS 2017-18 Rules Interpretation.
A Mentor man’s 35-year career as a wrestling referee came to a conclusion at this year’s state tournament. Brian “Bucky” Lindberg concluded his officiating career refereeing the Minnesota Class AA heavyweight state championship match on Saturday, Feb. 27.
It was the final match of the night and as James Huwe of Detroit Lakes and Logan Swanson of Mankato East stepped on the mat, Lindberg briefly realized that he was about to officiate his last match.
“When they shook hands, I thought, this is it,” Lindberg said. “But once you start, you can’t think about it,” Lindberg said.
Lindberg quickly regained focus and officiated his final state tournament match with the same focus that made him one of Minnesota’s top wrestling officials for more than three decades. Continue reading at www.trftimes.com
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — All Minnesota State High School League member schools are encouraged to participate in the League’s “Thank A Ref” campaign.
A kind word of thanks toward officials for all they do is the sole purpose of this endeavor.
Without officials, our games and contests cannot be held. Officials play an integral part in the events enjoyed by high school students, parents, and the entire community. While officials are paid for their service, they put in a lot of time in preparation, travel, and expenses. They perform an important job at a relatively low level of pay.
The Southern Minnesota Wrestling Officials Association (SMWOA) has recently expanded into Southwest Minnesota.
The SMWOA started almost 35 years ago in southeast Minnesota. This organization is comprised of a group of independent contractor wrestling officials that work together to form a wrestling officials association to promote the sport of wrestling. The SMWOA does this by maintaining the original mandate to train younger officials and grow the wrestling officiating talent in Minnesota.
Volunteers play an important role in the growth and success of the sport of wrestling. There are countless coaches and parents across the country going the extra mile to make the wrestling experience great. But there is one other important group that is often overlooked—and underappreciated—for the work they do: The wrestling referee.
Wrestling referees are the unsung heroes of the sport. They do the work that most don’t want to do—often for little or no pay—yet are the first to be criticized. Through it all, they keep coming back, putting in their time and pouring their heart and soul into a sport they love.
But it’s not always easy. Continue reading at www.teamusa.org