Tom Mitchell is a self-described fanatic for the sport of wrestling.  He constantly travels to give his son T.J. the best competitive opportunities to wrestle in the United States. The frustrating thing for Mitchell was that there really wasn't any great national-caliber tournament in the south for folkstyle wrestlers to enjoy.      "Folkstyle wrestling in the south can go nose-to-nose with any state nationally," according to Mitchell, "so I really wanted to make sure a national tournament came to our region of the country."      When Mitchell began looking at bringing a major event to Atlanta, Ga. he considered a lot of options, but in the end he decided to go with the best. In Mitchell's view that was to work with Bill Gossett, the Tournament Director and promoter of the Liberty Nationals, widely regarded as one of the best competitive tournaments with superior organization.     "It was important that we found someone that wanted to work within the USA Wrestling structure because that's where my loyalty lies," said Mitchell.    Now with over a year of planning under their belt Tom Mitchell and Bill Gossett are excited to bring an exciting youth event to the south, the Dixie Nationals.    www.dixienationalswrestling.com    According to Gossett, "the venue is world class, the awards are top-notch and we fully expect this to be one tough tournament as the word gets out more and more."     Mitchell can hardly contain his excitement for the upcoming December 20th event in Gwinett Arena outside of Atlanta. The venue is just a short ride from the airport.      "I don't want to seem overly confident but the response we are getting is tremendous.  Originally, we thought 500 kids for the first year would be doing well but the commitments that we are receiving really point to a breakthrough tournament," said Mitchell.     Mitchell noted that people in states like New Jersey and as far away as Colorado are making plans to bring a busload of youthful competitors. Gossett's connection to Missouri, have led to plans for two busloads to come in from the Show-Me State.      The Mitchell-Gossett connection really brings two regions of the country together for two different tournaments. Gossett has run the well-regarded Liberty Nationals for years and through an innovative marketing plan promises any wrestler that wins both the Dixie and Liberty Nationals this year an additional award, the American Crown.     www.libertynationalswrestling.com    The American Crown is a stylish trophy of Atlas shouldering the world, coupled with the classic Greek wrestlers from Liberty and the Gable-half trophy from Dixie wrestlers have a shot at awards that are unrivaled nationally.      Gossett, a fervent promoter of youth wrestling as well as his events, believes the awards are huge part of the draw.      "When a young wrestler comes in and wins one of these great trophies you can see how special it is to them right away in their eyes.  Everyone that attends these events will see what first-class awards are about," said Gossett.    Another strong incentive to attend these events is that both will also be a part of the 10-tournament Ultimate Challenge Series (with the Dominator Award) promoted nationally by USA Wrestling. Kids that become Ultimate Challenge champions gain national recognition in USA Wrestling's publication USA Wrestler and on TheMat.com.      Certainly, the Dixie Nationals aims to have the national representation that the Liberty Nationals enjoys with over 35 states represented. One advantage that the Dixie Nationals might have over other tournaments is its December 20th date, a Monday.      A Monday date for a National folkstyle tournament? That is an expected response some people have when they see the flier at first.  However, Mitchell matter of fact response is that it is the holiday season. Kids will be out of school for the week already, parents will have time off from work and they will be heading to a city with a major airport. Mitchell noted that flights from Philadelphia to Atlanta are as little as $59 one way.      This tournament really has the potential to bring in a wide cross-section of America's youth folkstyle community.      One effort that Tom Mitchell is leading is to encourage people outside of the already established USA Wrestling community to get behind this tournament meant for the states of the South to enjoy.      "Some states in the South aren't as strongly connected to USA Wrestling," said Mitchell. "People in these states that wrestle with other organizations or leagues should recognize what a value it will be to establish a nationally competitive event in the south. We really hope to see a great turnout from the neighboring states of Georgia."      "This really is a golden opportunity for a parents did give their kids a chance to see how they stack up against some competition outside of their own county tournaments. When kids get beat, they start to learn about raising their level of commitment and when kids succeed at a national event they become even more connected to the sport," he said.    The call is out to the deep-South states like South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky.  A truly national-caliber folkstyle tournament is on its way, waiting for the wrestling community to take up the challenge.