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USA WRESTLING GHSA IN GEORGIA TO ADD GIRLS STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS, BECOMING SEVENTH STATE WITH OFFICIAL GIRLS STATES

GHSA in Georgia to add Girls State Wrestling Championships, becoming seventh state with official girls states


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BY GARY ABBOTT, USA WRESTLING | FEB. 12, 2018, 2:46 P.M. (ET)
Photo of Georgia girl wrestlers courtesy of Team Georgia Girls Wrestling Facebook Page.

USA Wrestling’s Girls High School Development Committee has received official word that the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), which oversees high school sports in Georgia, has added an official Girls State Wrestling Championships, to begin in the 2018-19 season.

Georgia becomes the seventh state to reach official status with its Girls State Wrestling Championships, joining Hawaii, Texas, California, Washington, Tennessee and Alaska with state-sanctioned girls wrestling championships.

The competition is planned to be held alongside the State Duals Championships next year.

Here is the official statement issued by the GHSA and distributed within the state this past week:

On behalf of GHSA Executive Director Dr. Robin Hines, we take this opportunity to announce some exciting news regarding the growth of wrestling. With 250 females now participating in interscholastic wrestling programs around our State, we will introduce the inaugural State Championship for females in Georgia. We will be a leader in this great endeavor, becoming just the 7th State nationally to have a girls State Championship competition. With this new competition in place, I am certain that we will see additional females compete in the State.

While the details will need to be ironed out, we wanted our member schools to be aware of this very exciting event in wrestling coming to the State of Georgia.

If you have any suggestions and/or comments, please feel free to contact via email at don.corr@ghsa.net. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at our inaugural GHSA Female State Championship in the 2018-2019 season.

This news was reported in a number of media outlets over the past weekend, and was confirmed by Don Corr, the Associate Director of the GHSA.

Girls high school wrestling is growing rapidly across the nation. Officials from the Oregon State Athletic Association (OSAA) have confirmed in media reports that starting in 2019, girls will have their own official state tournament. A final vote on this is expected this week.

Leaders in many other states have started the formal process to achieve official status for girls high school wrestling.

USA Wrestling’s Girls High School Development Committee, led by Joan Fulp of California and Andrea Yamamoto of Washington, has been working closely with wrestling leaders across the nation, supporting their efforts in getting state recognition for girls wrestling. They also work with other organizations such as Wrestle Like Girl, Inc., the National Wrestling Coaches Association, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and others to help expand opportunity for girls to wrestle.