Experience the Battle of Waterloo

The Battle of Waterloo is the No. 1 dual meet in the state, bringing Iowa’s best high school teams together for an exciting competition each year. In the 2019 event, 15 of the 32 teams were ranked in the Top 10 in the IAWrestle Rankings, with 121 ranked individual wrestlers in the field, including 19 No. 1-ranked wrestlers. Many Battle of Waterloo wrestlers go on the IHSAA’s State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines. For example, the 2020 state championships included 153 Battle of Waterloo participants with 94 state place winners, 34 state finalists and 15 state champions. All three state championship teams – 1A, 2A, and 3A – wrestled in the Battle of Waterloo. As we like to say, the road to the state championships runs right through the Battle of Waterloo!

It is a two-day dual meet. On Day 1, teams are seeded and placed in one of four standard eight-team brackets. Two of these brackets compete in a morning session and two compete in an evening session. Those matches determine each team’s place in Day 2’s round-robin championship brackets. Each of the four qualifying teams will compete in a Division 1 group to determine 1-4 positions. The four runner-up teams from the first day will compete in Division 2 for 5-8 positions, and so on. Groups 5-8 wrestle in the morning, with groups 1-4 competing in the afternoon.

The 2023 BOW 24-Team Girls Division will compete on Thursday. The girls teams will compete in 3 8-Team Brackets starting at 9:00AM and then will be placed in 3-Team pools based on the place in the Bracket Competition. There will be 8 pools consisting of 3 1st place teams, 3 2nd place teams, through 8th place teams. The pool matches will take place Thursday afternoon/evening.

The Battle of Waterloo seeding committee meets on the Sunday prior to the tournament and reviews current rankings and records to seed the tournament.

Tournament brackets are released the Sunday before the tournament after the seeding committee meets to seed the tournament. We will post the brackets on this website and on our Facebook page.

Tickets can be purchased online or with a Credit Card at the Door – No Cash Sales Accepted. Tickets to the Girls Division at $12 (plus fee) for All Sessions on Thursday. Tickets to the Boys Divisions on Friday and Saturday are $10 (plus fee) for Sessions 1 and 2 on Friday and Sessions 3 and 4 on Saturday.

Young Arena is the venue for Battle of Waterloo, located at 125 Commercial Street in Waterloo. Click here for a map and more information about the venue, including parking options.

Yes, live streaming of all eight mats is available through IAWrestle for $15 at this link: iawrestle.com

The Battle of Waterloo tournament committee reviews potential candidates that wrestled for a Waterloo high school and alumni or community members who have made a positive impact on the sport of wrestling in Waterloo. The committee also accepts nominations for consideration.

No tickets are necessary! The Hall of Fame reception takes place at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Dan Gable Museum and is open to the public at no charge.

Waterloo, Iowa is a beautiful city with plenty of cultural attractions, recreation, entertainment, and locally owned restaurants. Of course, one attraction that is a can’t miss for wrestling families is the National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Dan Gable Museum, where we hold our Hall of Fame reception. If you still have last-minute Christmas gifts to buy, you’ll love shopping in downtown Waterloo and taking in the city’s holiday festivities. Click here for more tourist information from Experience Waterloo.