My name is Martin Blankenship and I am the Head Wrestling Coach at Shades Valley High School in Irondale, AL.  I took over the wrestling program in August of 2015. The school had not held a home wrestling match in years because they thought the mat did not meet specifications, After looking it over, it appeared to only have some missing coating in places that could be taped over. We used it for four home matches and then after our fourth and final match it literally fell apart as we were rolling it up. What was once in four sections is now literally in seven to eight pieces. It is not feasible to use it for anything other than a practice mat in coming years and we desperately need your help in purchasing a new mat for the 2016-17 season, that begins in October! However we need to order the mat by May to have it in time. We don't make a lot of money from home matches, but it means so much for the boys to be able to wrestle in front of their families. We will gladly recognize any who contribute at one of our four levels with a banner at our home matches that will be displayed for as long as we use the mat!