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By Donna Zukowski 12/16/04
The girls don’t fit the preconceived profile of solidly built, rugged wrestlers. Eliza Muhammed, 16, barely hits five feet in height while Rahkeiyyah Loyal, 15, sports shoulder-length hair, large hoop earrings and long, artistically manicured fingernails. Loyal and Muhammed, both juniors at Newark’s Central High School, are the only girls on the school’s 40-member wrestling team. So popular has the sport become for women that all-female wrestling will make its Olympic debut in the 2004 Summer Games. What makes two young women enter into a sport that Central High’s head wrestling coach, James Waldron, 27, described as “a disgusting, smelly world?”
“It looked fun,” Loyal said. Her teammate agreed. “I always liked watching wrestling on TV, and I thought it would be the same. But it turned out to be different,” Muhammed said, laughing. “I like it better.”
Surprise, shock, curiosity—all three hit him at the same time, Waldron said, when the girls first approached him to join the team. He allowed Loyal and Muhammed to try out with one condition: They received their parents’ approval. Loyal remembered her mother thought it was a joke.
“She just laughed,” Loyal said. “She called me crazy and told me, ‘Okay, you could do it if you want to.’” Muhammed chimed in that her mother had a similar reaction. “At first my mother didn’t say anything,” Muhammed said. “Then she came to a match, and she was scared. She asked the referee about what I was going to do. The referee said, ‘She’s going to be tossed around like a rubber band around the mat.’ She was scared, but she was like, ‘If you want to do it, you can do it.’ So I did.”
As for the boys, Waldron explained that after they got over their own surprise, shock and curiosity, they welcomed and accepted the girls. “These are their girls,” Waldron said.
The girls’ friends and schoolmates weren’t as supportive. “Other people say I’m crazy,” Muhammed said. Loyal shrugged off the criticism. “We won’t be with that many people,” Loyal said. “It’s just us two.”
But co-ed wrestling is a sport plagued by criticism. John Sacci, head wrestling coach at Rutgers-New Brunswick, worried about the psychological trauma a boy faced when defeated by a girl. “Here’s a 13- or 14-year-old prepubescent male who’s wrestling 103 [pounds],” Sacci said. “First year out for the sport, steps onto the mat against a girl. He is in a no-win situation. If he wins the match, ‘Big deal, you beat a girl.’ He loses the match, he is the laughingstock of the school—of the nonathletes.”
John Welch, chairman of USA Wrestling–NJ, the state division of the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, disagreed. “That’s a tool. That’s something to say,” Welch said. “The girl’s not worried about it. Most boys who wrestle aren’t worried about it. Boys who wrestle are used to risks.” USA Wrestling sponsors wrestling tournaments such as the National and World Championships, two precursors to the Olympics and strongly promotes female wrestling.
Another criticism raised by co-ed wrestling is the potential of improper sexual contact. As part of a male wrestling team, Loyal and Muhammed learn the same moves as the boys, moves with names like “the high crotch” and “the ball and chain.” Waldron said he stresses that the boys on his team have respect, not only for Loyal and Muhammed but for any female rival they may face. “Our coach told us that if we feel like they touch in the wrong way, just tell somebody,” Loyal said. “It was never like that.”
Both girls remarked that they were never sexually harassed, at least not purposely, because wrestling moves are executed so rapidly. With moves going so fast, could they tell the difference? “I could,” Muhammed said, with a knowing head nod. “You could tell if someone touched you on purpose.”
The physical strength difference between boys and girls and injuries is one concern that may be valid. “Each year, because of testosterone, the males get stronger,” Sacci said. “A young lady could be competitive in her freshman year, but after that it’s going to get awfully tough.” Waldron agrees about the strength factor—the older the boys get, the stronger they become. “Some of the schools will try to hurt the girls,” he said, sadly. “Some boys would be funny, like all spite, like ‘this girl thinks she’s tough—I’m going to show her,’” Muhammed said.
Intentional or not, injuries occur in wrestling. Both girls ended their first season early because of them. Muhammed dislocated her shoulder during a warm-up session with a fellow male teammate before a match. Loyal broke her collarbone during a match with a boy. Waldron, Sacci and Welch all agreed the best scenario for a female wrestler is to wrestle another female, but the injuries didn’t deter the teens’ fighting spirit.
Welch said he admired girls like Loyal and Muhammed: Their will and determination are part of the backbone female wrestling needs to develop. “If you could get wrestling at a high school level, then it will start to grow,” Welch said. “If you could get two or three high schools, then it starts to put pressure on other places to do it—superintendents of schools, athletic directors, where the budgets are right now. It’s really an uphill battle for girls in a sport like wrestling.”
Even though Rutgers-New Brunswick has no female wrestlers, coach Sacci would start an all-female wrestling team if interest were high. “That wouldn’t be a problem at all,” Sacci said. “Like anything else, you gotta have a base. So if they start in high school, those females will want to continue the sport in college.”
Both Loyal and Muhammed plan on attending college. Muhammed wants to become a pediatrician; Loyal, a fashion designer. They would consider continuing to wrestle in college, especially, Muhammed said, if it would get them scholarships.
Confidence and discipline are the major assets Muhammed and Loyal said they received from wrestling. “In my eyes, they’re strong women,” Waldron said, admiringly. “They are the type of women you’ll see as principals, doctors, leaders. They’re willing to go out and take risks. They took a risk in coming out. They got hurt, and they’re coming back. They’re very strong-willed.”
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Girl wrestler, ACLU confront tournament gender bias
by Maureen Spencer
Express Writer 12.1.04
At 14 years old, Vernal Jr. High School wrestler Candace Workman has stood up to the Spanish Fork Parks and Recreation Department and with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), walked away from the confrontation victorious.
At issue was the fact that Candace is a girl.
One of two female wrestlers with the 65-athlete VJHS team, Candace has occasionally met a male wrestler who refused to compete against her. This year, the Spanish Fork Parks and Recreation told her that she could not compete in its major tournament because she was a girl.
“It was by a fluke that we noticed the ‘girls not permitted to compete’ instructions for the competition,” recalls Candace’s mother.
Gender bias did not set well with her or with her parents, Jason and Monique Workman, who strongly support their daughter’s wrestling accomplishments. Among her many competition championships, Candace holds the national title in the 13-year-old 95-pound class of the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association.
Jason is the Vernal Jr. High wrestling coach and such flagrant violation of his daughter’s rights led the family to the ACLU. Complaints about public school wrestling meets barring girls because of gender were not new to ACLU lawyers. Three previous courts have struck down rules barring girl wrestlers.
The Spanish Fork Parks and Recreation situation was immediately taken on as an ACLU case.
Faced with legal action, the Spanish Fork Parks and Recreation told Candace that she could indeed wrestle in the tournament which draws upwards of 800 athletes—she would be competing in a girl’s division.
What might seem a quick resolution to some was unacceptable to Candace and any of the other girls wanting to wrestle in Spanish Fork. Both boys and girls wrestle in their own weight class, and there were not enough girl wrestlers entering to have more than one in a class.
Again, the girls could not compete in Spanish Fork, and ACLU lawyers continued their pressure on the Parks and Recreation Department.
Ultimately the Spanish Fork City Council overturned the Recreation Department policy on Nov. 18 and told the wrestlers that girls could wrestle in the tournament.
Monique Workman says Candace has put the work in to wrestle the stronger boys. “She loves the sport. I’m really happy it’s been resolved for her.”
The proud mother added, “She’s a good wrestler—period.”
Candace has serious intentions of preparing to compete in the Olympics. The Athens 2004 Summer Games held the first Olympic women’s wrestling competition.
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Wrestler Ashley Caicedo breaks the male mold on the mats
By JOHN ANDRULIS Sports Editor 12/16/04
Darby sophomore Ashley Caicedo lets her actions do most of the talking when it comes to the sport of wrestling.
Wrestling runs through the Caicedo family bloodline. Her older brothers were wrestlers, and her two younger brothers are currently coming up the Tiger wrestling ranks.
At the Hamilton Invitational last Saturday, Ashley lost to her opponent after giving it her all, coming up a bit short once again.
Caicedo has yet to win a match against her male opponents, but her coach, Todd Ruark, won't be surprised when it does happen.
"She just has to finish her moves," said Ruark after Saturday's match. "She's setting her moves up but just not finishing them."
Caicedo's inability to finish off her opponents is definitely not from a lack of effort or determination.
"She's got the spirit," Ruark joked, pointing toward Ashley's dyed red hair.
Caicedo doesn't wrestle to upstage guys, prove a point, or bend any gender roles, she just enjoys participating in the sport.
"I just kind of grew up with it I guess," Caicedo said modestly. She tried playing volleyball once but wasn't thrilled about it.
Not unlike her brothers, the Darby sophomore grew up in "little guy" wrestling, participating in the sport in fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades.
Caicedo has helped pave the way for other Darby girls who wanted to try wrestling. The Tigers now have four girls on their roster, including sophomore Andy McConnell, and freshmen Caitlin Baird and Hildy Flores.
The students in the small Bitterroot town have been supportive.
"Everyone at school supports me," Caicedo added. "My brothers and my best friend Erica support me all the time."
When asked how her opponents respond when they find out they'll be grappling with a girl, Caicedo said, "I have no idea, usually they don't want to wrestle a girl." Her response is a good indication that Caicedo really doesn't care or wonder much about what the person on the other side of the circle thinks - her focus is on her wrestling.
"I was more nervous wrestling a girl," Caicedo said ironically. "I'm more aggressive with girls because I don't want to lose to them."
She has lost to a girl before, but was able to redeem herself by beating her the next time they met on the mat.
"Her determination," said Ruark, is her strongest asset. "She gets the better of it sometimes in practice (against the boys)."
In fact, Caicedo was voted most inspirational on the Darby freestyle team recently because of her work ethic and drive to do well in a sport that is widely considered a male sport.
"Lots of people come and tell me I did awesome," Caicedo said of her opponents and wrestlers who have watched her wrestle.
Although very few would doubt her competitive spirit, Caicedo knows that winning isn't everything.
Nevertheless, one day, while catching her breath across from one of the boys, the ref will be raising her arm in victory
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Olympics: JOC strikes deals with 10 athletes for new marketing plan
12/15/04
(Kyodo) _ Japanese Olympic officials breathed a huge sigh of relief as they managed to win cooperation from 10 of the country's top athletes for their new marketing program beginning early next year.
The Japanese Olympic Committee said Wednesday it has clinched deals with hammer thrower Koji Murofushi and popular judoka Ryoko Tani, who both won gold medals at the Athens Olympics, along with eight other athletes.
The deals came after the JOC's "Symbol Athlete" program appeared to have been derailed even before its launch after being shunned by Olympic gold medalists Kosuke Kitajima (swimming), Mizuki Noguchi (marathon) and Hiroyasu Shimizu (speed skating).
The three athletes opted not to come under JOC control in an apparent attempt to leave themselves free to engage in commercial activities.
The JOC's new program is aimed at luring sponsorship deals worth 300 million yen per company up until the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the use of top athletes' image rights controlled by the national Olympic body.
The JOC had initially hoped to sign deals with around 15 athletes by offering them a "cooperation fee" of up to 20 million yen a year.
The eight other athletes who have agreed to the JOC's terms are sprinter Shingo Suetsugu, judoka Kosei Inoue, female wrestler Kyoko Hamaguchi, table tennis player Ai Fukuhara, ski jumper Noriaki Kasai and figure skaters Shizuka Arakawa, Fumie Suguri and Tomomi Okazaki.
The duration of contracts is one year for the summer sports athletes and one and a half years for the winter sports athletes.
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12/16/04
Boucher aims high When you're the only female varsity wrestler in the city, you can expect to get noticed.
That's just what Marcia Boucher wants.
The Horlick junior has competed in just two meets this year for the Rebels and is 1-1, her victory coming by pin.
She will be very busy this weekend, however. Saturday, Boucher will compete in her first big meet of the season, the Westosha Central Holiday Challenge. On Sunday, she goes against her fellow girls at the Badger State Brawl at Kenosha Bradford. Joining Boucher is junior varsity teammate Celia Delacruz.
The Brawl is sponsored by the United States Girls Wrestling Association and is one of three tournaments involving Wisconsin wrestlers.
The Wisconsin Girls State Championships will be held Feb. 27, 2005 at Bradford and the eighth annual USGWA National Championships will be held March 19 at Lake Orion, Mich.
Last year, Boucher won the state title at 105 pounds and was eighth in the national meet. She is ranked sixth nationally this season at 105 in the USGWA preseason rankings.
Boucher almost didn't wrestle for Horlick this season. She has been on varsity since she was a freshman and had some family problems, but decided to come back to the team.
"I wasn't sure if I would wrestle, but I got talked back into it," Boucher said.
Boucher's victory was a satisfying one, for her, anyway. She moved up to 112 pounds and pinned Zach Leicht of city rival Park in 3:23.
Her goals go way beyond individual victories, however. She's been wrestling with the guys for three years, but wants to make it through her senior year.
"I want to be the first girl to wrestle all four years (on varsity)," Boucher said. "Coach (Jerry Kupper) has said, `Let's see who lasts.' I'd like to be the first and make history."
She also would like to duplicate Alyssa Lampe's feat of qualifying for the WIAA State Tournament. The Tomahawk wrestler, who was ranked second nationally at 100 pounds by the USGWA, lost her first match in Division 3.
"My goal is to be the first girl in Division 1 to go to state," Boucher said.
Boucher also wants to have a better finish at the USGWA National Meet. She might have finished better at last year's nationals, but she suffered a concussion during the tournament. Interestingly, that's something that has never happened to her wrestling a boy.
"I've had boys slam me on the mat and it doesn't faze me," she said.
* Admission to the Badger State Brawl, which begins at 10 a.m., is $6 for an all-day pass. Children under age 5 are admitted free.