What was once a sport that merely allowed women to compete has spoken for itself, establishing a full-fledged division for female wrestling. Having started with small, grass-roots teams and competitions, women’s wrestling has transformed into a formal sport. Today, there are separate all-female teams and tournaments for all age groups at state, regional, and national levels. This guide will introduce you to women’s wrestling in the United States — where it’s been and where it’s at today.
Building Scholastic Wrestling
In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, wrestling wasn’t a popular high school sport for girls. However, this started changing towards the early 2000s, when girls started filling boy’s scholastic rosters in increasing numbers. This slow transition was due in part to Title IX, the law passed in 1972 that demanded gender equality — especially in athletics.
In terms of wrestling, the law meant that girls were allowed to join their school’s boy’s team if a girls-only team was not available to them. Because girls-only teams were not so readily available, girls began to regularly compete in boy’s competitions at the junior varsity and varsity levels. Some of the best female grapplers even went on to compete and place in their state’s boy’s wrestling tournaments.
It wasn’t a surprise that schools started to establish separate girl’s teams. As a result, girls-only folkstyle competitions became more and more common. Today, girls still have the opportunity to compete in boy’s competitions, but most compete against female competitors only. The influx of girls-only competition has urged the states experiencing such popularity to establish regional and state championships.
Currently, a few states host sanctioned girl’s state championships, the largest of which are Hawaii, Texas, and California. In addition to these, many other states hold annual girl’s “state invitationals,” which are simply non-sanctioned girl’s state championships.
In addition to state tournaments, the hosts an annual folkstyle national wrestling championship. The best female folkstylers make their way to the podium during this prestigious competition.
Fun Fact:
Did you know that the best post-collegiate female wrestlers are residents at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado? The most talented women live and train at this facility year round, and are active on the international circuit of tournaments. If you’re serious about becoming a successful freestyle wrestler, this is the place you need to be!
Youth Opportunities in Freestyle
You will find the most talented up-and-coming girls competing in freestyle, and the number of girls competing has risen significantly in the last few years. The main reason for this is that freestyle is the style women compete in during college and internationally. So not only are there many freestyle competitions for girls to participate in during the spring and summer months, but there are also established state and national championships hosted by USA Wrestling.
The age levels competed at are the same for girls and boys, from age four and up. The pinnacle of youth freestyle wrestling for girls is the Girl’s National Championships held in Fargo, North Dakota every summer. This is the tournament any serious female grappler should look to win!
Women’s Collegiate
In the United States, female wrestlers compete in freestyle at the collegiate level, rather than in folkstyle, as men do. This offers a unique advantage for female grapplers in the United States: Wrestling freestyle year-round allows women to progress quicker because they do not have to change styles. Men, on the other hand, have to switch from folkstyle to freestyle quite regularly. There is no doubt that the year-round commitment to freestyle wrestling is the reason why the United States is home to some of the best female freestyle wrestlers at the world level.
Several colleges, mostly National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II and Division III schools, field competitive women’s teams that attend regional and national competitions through collegiate wrestling associations. These institutions also commonly offer partial, and sometimes full athletic scholarships to female wrestlers. Needless to say, competing in a sport you love while receiving a quality education is huge for an athlete of any gender, and more females simply need to go after these opportunities!
The Sky’s the Limit
As the opportunities for women to compete in wrestling increase, the numbers of competitors will continue to grow exponentially. One thing, though, is clear — women’s wrestling is expanding in the United States, quickly closing the gap behind male wrestlers in terms of participation.
Gone are the days that didn’t allow girls to compete in wrestling. If there is a girl out there with a heart for the sport, there is always a space for her on the mat. It’s important to note that women’s wrestling is also growing on the world level.
