Make girls wrestling great

SUSU

Member
Let’s get straight to it. Inaugural year is done and it’s great having a girls program. Now let’s make it great. There isn’t much need to take baby steps this next year. Let’s take a leap and get on par with the other states doing girls wrestling.

Changes I’d like to see

1. Choose a style and stick with it. Freestyle or Folk just choose one and let’s get this “girls rules” stuff out of here. It was great for year one but it’s one and done.

2. Let’s get to two divisions. D1 and D2 can be D1 and D3 and D4 should be D2. The big schools will continue to dominate the one division format. I’m pretty sure all other sports in the AIA have multi divisions so let’s make it happen with girls wrestling.

3. Single elemimation is no bueno and not fair to these girls.

4. Keep the normal NFHS weight classes for girls. This year was fine but let’s move on to the national standard and not something we made up here in this state.

Where do we voice these opinions? Is there like a town hall meeting. Let’s get this going!
 

chingon76

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Needs to be freestyle rules. There needs to be no hair covering / headgear rule (unless its just headgear for "safety" concerns. and it needs to be a spring sport. Then the girls will get adequate attention instead of split attention from coaching staff.

As mentioned in another post:
d1 and d2 should combine for state
and
d3 and d4 should combine for state
 

chingon76

Well-Known Member
Staff member
all of the coaches and parents need to voice these concerns to your head coaches and athletic directors. You should also contact Dean Visser at AIA. He needs to hear the public's concerns.
dvisser@aiaonline.org
 
Last edited:

Coachdoerr

Well-Known Member
Needs to be freestyle rules. There needs to be no hair covering / headgear rule (unless its just headgear for "safety" concerns. and it needs to be a spring sport. Then the girls will get adequate attention instead of split attention from coaching staff.

As mentioned in another post:
d1 and d2 should combine for state
and
d3 and d4 should combine for state
I agree with the freestyle part 100% but not makin it a fall sport yet. Not very many schools have full line-ups yet. Keep it the same as the boys for now. Maybe down the road change it. I only have one girl so it would be really really hard to make it a fall sport at the moment
 

Coach Bombay

New Member
Let’s get straight to it. Inaugural year is done and it’s great having a girls program. Now let’s make it great. There isn’t much need to take baby steps this next year. Let’s take a leap and get on par with the other states doing girls wrestling.

Changes I’d like to see

1. Choose a style and stick with it. Freestyle or Folk just choose one and let’s get this “girls rules” stuff out of here. It was great for year one but it’s one and done.

2. Let’s get to two divisions. D1 and D2 can be D1 and D3 and D4 should be D2. The big schools will continue to dominate the one division format. I’m pretty sure all other sports in the AIA have multi divisions so let’s make it happen with girls wrestling.

3. Single elemimation is no bueno and not fair to these girls.

4. Keep the normal NFHS weight classes for girls. This year was fine but let’s move on to the national standard and not something we made up here in this state.

Where do we voice these opinions? Is there like a town hall meeting. Let’s get this going!

Here are things that must change. Single elimination needs to go and go away for good with girls wrestling especially at the bigger tournaments like state and sectionals. We need to transition girls wrestling into freestyle to prepare Arizona girls for college wrestling. The last thing, we need to add a 225+ girls weight class.
 

chingon76

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I agree with the freestyle part 100% but not makin it a fall sport yet. Not very many schools have full line-ups yet. Keep it the same as the boys for now. Maybe down the road change it. I only have one girl so it would be really really hard to make it a fall sport at the moment
spring sport... so after boys season ends ... girls season begins
 

Coachdoerr

Well-Known Member
spring sport... so after boys season ends ... girls season begins
Either way would be very difficult for us seeing we only have one girl. She did place 3rd at 110lbs this year but would still be very difficult for us to have a separate season
 
I have asked Dean if I could set on the committee. We are suppose to meet in April. I know in talking with the rural schools, they don't want it in the spring. I do agree that we should have 2 divisions. I like the folkstyle so we could coach all at once, but just to have girls wrestling is great for me. Hated the single elimination. I will try to keep the group informed.
 

Coachdoerr

Well-Known Member
I have asked Dean if I could set on the committee. We are suppose to meet in April. I know in talking with the rural schools, they don't want it in the spring. I do agree that we should have 2 divisions. I like the folkstyle so we could coach all at once, but just to have girls wrestling is great for me. Hated the single elimination. I will try to keep the group informed.
I do not think anyone likes the spring thing. I don like it either I do however encourage the freestyle thing seeing that the girls that do go on to wrestle in college will wrestle freestyle only
 

BDBlue

Well-Known Member
What they did to female wrestling in AZ is a joke! I agree they should combine the Women in Divisions 1 & 2, and Divisions 3 & 4 and have them wrestle FREESTYLE as it translates to College Wrestling Opportunities directly. Women don't wrestle folkstyle in college in the US or in the World for that matter. Other states are doing it for their women, why don't we? It just goes to show another blaring area that AZ is behind in comparison to the rest for the country regarding wrestling.

AZ is so much better than we are showing!!!
 
Please list the states who wrestle freestyle for their high school season not the spring freestyle season. I'd like to make contacts and get ideas from them on how this can best be done in AZ.
 

BDBlue

Well-Known Member
I would definitely try and contact those mentioned in the article. They could possible help align our state with the initiative! Looks good for the state!
 
I may have missed it but what states that section a state tournament wrestle freestyle during the high school season? All the states I know of wrestle folkstyle.
 

Ed Cruz

Member
I am the Head Coach of the new Women's Program at Ottawa University in Surprise . There seems to be a misconception that girls in college only wrestle freestyle. We are in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. There are 47 Women's teams that wrestle folkstyle. Yes, the WCWA is better known, but we actually have more teams. We have recently signed Kat Sotomayer from Ironwood and girls from California and Iowa.
If the AIA switched the girls to freestyle, I see a potential issue with the number of certified officials available to call the matches. Anyway, just my thoughts.
 

FamousLie

Well-Known Member
I am the Head Coach of the new Women's Program at Ottawa University in Surprise . There seems to be a misconception that girls in college only wrestle freestyle. We are in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. There are 47 Women's teams that wrestle folkstyle. Yes, the WCWA is better known, but we actually have more teams. We have recently signed Kat Sotomayer from Ironwood and girls from California and Iowa.
If the AIA switched the girls to freestyle, I see a potential issue with the number of certified officials available to call the matches. Anyway, just my thoughts.

I looked on the website and can't find a women's wrestling team.
 

CoachA

Member
Last edited:

FamousLie

Well-Known Member
https://ncwa.net/teams

https://www.ottawa.edu/ouaz/student-activities/club-teams/wrestling-club-(1)/

We are not governed by the athletic department and governed by the NCWA. We offer scholarships and have an operational budget. Also since I am on the Executive Board of the NCWA, my sources are telling me when the NCAA adds ladies wrestling it will be folkstyle not freestyle.

That's nice. Too bad folkstyle isn't in the Olympics. If your goal is to compete at a national level, it doesn't make much sense to go against every other college that offers women's wrestling officially. If the NCAA does that then it's a big mistake.
 

CoachA

Member
That's nice. Too bad folkstyle isn't in the Olympics. If your goal is to compete at a national level, it doesn't make much sense to go against every other college that offers women's wrestling officially. If the NCAA does that then it's a big mistake.

It's not about the Olympics it is about college wrestling and how we do things at the college level. Not every other college nationally wrestles freestyle and our goal is to wrestle at the national level like we did this year. It is a matter of opinion and we have chosen to lead the way and be in line with what is coming.
 

FamousLie

Well-Known Member
It's not about the Olympics it is about college wrestling and how we do things at the college level. Not every other college nationally wrestles freestyle and our goal is to wrestle at the national level like we did this year. It is a matter of opinion and we have chosen to lead the way and be in line with what is coming.

Every other actual women's wrestling team (not club), that I know of wrestles freestyle. I don't see men's folkstyle ever being done away with because of tradition, but since women's wrestling in college is relatively new, they adopted freestyle. Your club offered some people I know scholarships and were turned down because it isn't a real team, just a club, and because you don't do freestyle. They can go to ASU and wrestle at Sunkist for 1/3 the cost of attending Ottawa, so it didn't make sense to go there and wrestle for a club in a style that isn't applicable to being competivie nationally.
 
Top