Volunteers crucial part of Fargo event

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Jason Bryant (TheMat.com)
07/19/2003


Inside the FargoDome in Fargo, N.D. a steady stream of gray-shirted people walk amidst the wrestlers, coaches and officials. Some are old, some are young, some have done it for years and some are doing it for the first time.    In wrestling, they've got many names. Towel-tappers, runners, timers, scorers, mat maids, and who knows what else. But in Fargo, the volunteer is a vital element in making sure the world's largest wrestling tournament continues smoothly and on time.    Setting to the side of the raised head table in the FargoDome, Ken Tinquist and John Nelson sit. A long table, littered with volunteer forms, and various paperwork, the two are constantly busy.     "I need a timer at my table," one woman tells them.  Tinquist and Nelson are the volunteer coordinators for the Cadet and Junior Nationals, a spot they've undertaken the last three years.    "It's too big of a job for just one person, so we share it," Nelson said.  How many volunteers take part in the tournament each year?    "By the time we finish, it's around 450. We get some that come in and just work one session and some that work every session. We have one family from Breckenridge, Minn. that works ever year. They make a vacation out of it," Nelson said.    The volunteers range in age from junior high to parents and grandparents of wrestlers, or just folks from the Fargo-Moorhead area looking to help out.  Joe Martin runs a jewelry store in Fargo and has been volunteering for the last six years.    "My company sponsors a mat and we feel that when people see our name in other areas, it's a good thing," Martin said.    "My son was a volunteer last year and had the most volunteer time of anyone, and now he's wrestling in it this year," Martin said.    It's a good thing for the kids to do. They get volunteer credit for it (in Fargo) and it looks good on a transcript for college."    Martin's responsibilities have varied throughout the six years he's been residing in the FargoDome for the 8 days of the tournament.    "I've brought bout sheets to and from the head table, I've helped roll up mats, been a tapper, and helped build the stage," Martin said.  Getting volunteers like Martin isn't that difficult of a task for Tinquist and Nelson, but they do spend a lot of time on the phone.    "We've gone through two or three phone cards each," Nelson said.    "It's not that bad on the phone, but a lot of people are local, so that cuts down on the long-distance and we've been doing a lot of emailing too."  They've got their hand on the pulse of the Fargo wrestling scene.    Tinquist has been a wrestling coach at Discovery Junior High School for the past several years and will go up to Fargo North High School this coming year, while Nelson is the principal of Ben Franklin Middle School in Fargo.    "Between him (Tinquist), a wrestling coach, and me a wrestling official, once we've got your name, we've got it for life," Nelson joked.    Volunteers come in bunches, or just one or two at a time, but both Tinquist and Nelson make time for short conversations.    "Let me think… Nebraska?" Nelson asks one man who walked up to the volunteer table."No, Kansas," he replies.    When someone asks what the best part about volunteering at the FargoDome each year, the response is usually similar to Nelson's.    "It's about all the people you meet and you see some great wrestling," Nelson said.    "Wrestling is a family, you gain a lot from it and you put a lot into it."  The FargoDome is full of Joe Martin's. Folks just happy to help out because it's not the competition that keeps people coming back each year, it's the hospitality.