USA Wrestling has received information on the services for Ross Aguiar:

Many have inquired about information for Ross's services and where to send flowers and cards. The information is below.

Funeral home is:
Walton's Funeral Home
875 w 2nd St
Reno, NV 89503

Services are Saturday, October 24 at 2 p.m.
South Reno United Methodist Church
200 De Spain Lane
Reno, NV 89171

Reno Tournament of Champions founder Ross Aguiar passed away in auto accident

USA Wrestling has received word that Ross Aguiar, the president and co-founder of the highly-respected Reno Tournament of Champions, passed away Thursday due to an auto accident.

The Reno Tournament of Champions is a unique competition, which combines an outstanding high school tournament featuring many of the top teams in the nation and the West, along with a highly competitive college tournament, which has attracted many top Div. I programs over the years.

“He had a very significant impact on wrestling and built a fantastic wrestling showcase in Reno. Wrestling has lost a good friend and leader,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.

In a letter to many of those involved in wrestling, RTOC Tournament Director Ryan Teubner had this to say:

Twenty-one years ago, he and Jack Dolan had the vision to create a college and high school tournament that would one day grow into what it is today. There are so many of you that have helped make this tournament is today that we cannot thank you enough for the continued support. Ross would tell the story about how he really learned about what wrestling is when John Smith invited him to come to an OSU-Iowa dual when Dan Gable was still coaching. He said from then on he was hooked and he wanted to create something like that out in Reno.

For the past 10 years, my wife, Beth, and I have had the honor and privilege of knowing Ross and working with him to help run the tournament. Why he ever asked us to run a tournament when we both had no experience running a tournament, I will never know. However, what he had was a vision and built a team that would understand his vision and help the tournament run smooth each year.

This year's tournament is going to be hard. Not going to pretend it's not. It is. We all know that. We are all going to miss Rossco's smile and bear hugs this year. But Rossco would want us to get through it and have the tournament and make sure we started on time and finished (relatively) early. The only thing he told us when we first started running the tournament was "you've got to start on time!" That we will.

Martin Floreani, founder and CEO of Flowrestling, wrote this in a tribute on Flowrestling:

Although our meetings and conversations were less frequent these days, Ross had a profound effect on me in my early days. I've known Ross Aguiar for almost as long as FloWrestling has been in existence. A big, burly man, while his stature was imposing, his gregarious nature was comforting and inviting. Ross was just so classy and graceful.

When I was given the news that Ross died, a wave of somber nostalgia washed over me. I wouldn’t see Ross more than once over the last several years, but I suddenly missed him and wished I spent more time with him. Ross, if you made this big of imprint on me in the short time we spent together, I can’t imagine what your close friends and family are going through right now. My heartfelt condolences go out to them. We will miss you. You were awesome.

The 2015 Reno Tournament of Champions will be held Dec. 19-21.