High school girls wrestling reaches threshold for recognition as official sport by PIAA
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The movement to make girls’ wrestling a sport fully sponsored by the PIAA has reached an important milestone.
Pennridge was the 100th school district to vote to sanction an all-girls wrestling program, meeting the threshold for official recognition set by the PIAA.
The next step is to petition the PIAA to grant official wrestling status to girls.
“PIAA would like to congratulate the member schools that sponsor girls’ wrestling and support their growth,” said Dr. Robert Lombardi, executive director of the PIAA, in a press release from SanctionPA, which has led the push for recognition of girls wrestling in the state. “We look forward to developing a world-class program to highlight these athletes and would like to thank everyone involved at Sanction PA for their dedication to this growing sport.”
Ten schools in Berks County have approved girls’ wrestling and have active programs: Gov. Mifflin, Brandywine Heights, Exeter, Berks Catholic, Wyomissing, Boyertown, Reading High, Hamburg, Schuylkill Valley and Wilson.
Earlier this month, Upper Perkiomen and Perkiomen Valley sanctioned girls’ wrestling.
Last year, the PIAA recognized girls’ wrestling as an emerging sport.
According to the PIAA Emerging Sports Process Guide, “If an emerging sport continues to demonstrate significant interscholastic growth, the PIAA Board will consider full sponsorship.”
According to SanctionPA, attendance at girls wrestling in Pennsylvania has increased by more than 80% in the 2022-23 season and by more than 400% in the past five years.
According to SanctionPA, 46 Pennsylvania school districts have sanctioned wrestling for girls since September, including Hamburg, Schuylkill Valley and Wilson.
“Reaching the 100 school threshold further solidifies SanctionPA’s position that if you create equitable opportunity for girls’ athletics, growth will follow,” said Brooke Zumas, President of SanctionPA, in the press release. “When we launched this initiative in March 2020, girls’ wrestling as a whole was viewed as novelty and not a legitimate sport in its own right.
But with the collective work of people across Pennsylvania, it is clear that girls’ wrestling is a robust and needed sport that is filling a gap in the wrestling community and our state.
“In a few weeks, the athletes will compete in what will hopefully be the last non-PIAA sanctioned Pennsylvania Girls Wrestling State tournament. Congratulations to each and every school and athlete, past and present, who helped pave the way for the great sport of girls wrestling in Pennsylvania.
This story will be updated.