Oregon approves state tournament for girls wrestling

February 13, 2018 / Athletic AdministrationWrestling
Oregon’s activities association on Monday voted to sanction a state tournament for girls wrestling beginning with the 2018-19 school year.

Oregon becomes the seventh state to launch such an event. Outside of lacrosse, girls wrestling has been among the nation’s fastest growing sports, and that’s forcing more states to consider all-girls events.

Idaho last weekend made its own history by sanctioning the state’s first all-girls wrestling tournament, drawing teams from Utah and Oregon. In just the last three years, participation in girls wrestling has grown 27 percent nationwide, according to the NFHS.

From the Statesman Journal:

“We’re excited about making the change for next year with girls wrestling,” OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber said. “We think it’s an area that’s continuing to grow.”

Four years ago, there were about 100 girls competing in high school wrestling in Oregon; there are more than 400 girls competing this season.

When Washington started sanctioning girls high school wrestling in 2007, the state had fewer than 200 girls competing. As of 2017, there were more than 1,000.

Currently, girls in Oregon can compete against boys in district and OSAA state tournaments or they can compete against other girls in a separate exhibition state tournament.

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