Last night, I took my 4 year old son to see his first wrestling match: Virginia v. North Carolina. Right now, Virginia has a nationally ranked wrestling team. The team competes at Memorial Gymnasium located on the grounds of the University of Virginia. Admission for adults and children is FREE. We didn't have much trouble finding seats. The match started fairly early: 5:00 p.m. so we did not arrive until about half way through the event. However, there are weekend day time matches which may be easier to attend. Parking is available in the parking garage located adjacent to the U.Va. Bookstore (you have to pay for parking, but it is reasonably priced). Please note that it was a little hard to find bathrooms, but there is a help desk out front in case you need assistance. In addition, there are no refreshments available so plan on bringing your own snacks (which are permitted in the gym). While there was ample seating available, I recommend sitting in the top row of the bleachers. We sat in the lower levels of the bleacher section behind the Carolina bench and our view of the action was frequently obscured by the Carolina coaches and wrestlers.
One neat feature was the fact that you had to walk among the Carolina wrestlers while they were warming up to get to the seats. My son was wowed a little by this. It isn't often that you can get that close to collegiate athletes while they are preparing to compete.
One negative feature was participant injury. By its very nature, wrestling is a rough sport. One Virginia wrestler suffered a twisted knee, which probably wouldn't bother a child in a larger venue, but in such close quarters and because the injury appeared serious, the gym turned completely silent and you could clearly hear that the wrestler was in pain. My son handled fit fairly well, but it is something to consider before taking kids his age and younger I think. Depending upon the child, they may get scared by an injury under those circumstances.
By the way, the event wasn't attended by just dads and sons! I saw a number of dads and moms and daughters too!!!!
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