News Page
The Answer to the Title IX,
Gender Equity, and Proportionality
By Kent Bailo1/15/2001
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Confirmed USGWA events for the 2001 season. |
"TOP-8" Pictorial
Each season Wrestling USA Magazine
does at least three issues that are highlights
in the girls wrestling community. This issue
contains the Wrestling USA M a g a z i n e/
USGWA pre-season "TOP-8" in each of the
14 weight classes. In the spring, we offer
the 4-page fold-out poster of the USGWA
National Champions, and also the
Wrestling USA M a g a z i n e/ U S G WA G i r l s
Wrestling High School All- Americans. We
hope to continue these traditions and add
even more girls coverage as the sport con-tinues
to grow.
| Growth of girls wrestling The 2000 USGWA National Champ-ionships had a record 432 female wrestlers competing in four different divisions. The "Elementary School Age" division is for girls in grades K-5, the "Middle School Age" division is for girls in grades 6-8, the "High School Age" division is for girls in grades 9-12, and the "Collegiate Women's Open" division is for any female wrestler age 18 and over; and they do not need to be a college student. The entries continue to grow as we had 305 girls in 1999, and 272 in the first year of the USGWA N a t i o n a l Championships in 1998. We expect the 2001 event to top 500 wrestlers!! The website FHSW (Female High School Wre s t l e r ) reports that the National High School Federation survey indicated that over 2,500 girls were on high school wrestling teams last year. Several states, including Michigan, did not respond to the survey. The FHSW estimated that there were more likely approximately 5,000 girls on high school wrestling teams last year - and they expect that number to grow to around 10,000 this season. 2001 USGWA Schedule of Events The 2001 USGWA National Champ-ionships will be held March 24-25, 2001 (Saturday & Sunday) at Lake Orion High School in Lake Orion, Michigan. The weigh-in will be Friday, March 23 from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The scratch weight of each wrestler is recorded, and an equal number of wrestlers are assigned to each "blocked weight" class. The wrestlers only weigh-in one time. The high school age division will use 14 weight classes (because that is the number high school boys use), the colle-giate women will have 10 weight classes (because that is the number collegiate men use), and the elementary and middle school divisions will use up to 14 weight classes, depending upon the number of entries. There is a good possibility that tourna-ments will be added in other states. Plans are in progress as of this writing to host championship tournaments in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Florida, Oregon, G e o rgia, Minnesota, North Caro l i n a , Arizona, Colorado, North Dakota, and a Colonial States Championships. Stay tuned to the web site at www.usgwa.com for updated information and entry forms and tournament information that can be down-loaded and printed in your home. If you haven't gotten your mailing yet, email kbailo@tir.com to get info and entry forms mailed to you. The USGWA mails to every high school in America that sponsors a wrestling program, and will begin mailing to middle school/junior highs as soon as the mailing addresses are entered into the computer. |
Who's tough? Who's moved? A few schools that are real up and coming escaped mention in last season's final edition. Palo Duro High School in Amarillo, Texas in one of them. Palo Dura has three girls in the USGWA Top-8 rank-ings. Vallejo High School in California has two girls rated, plus the younger sister of 2000 National Champion Michelle Domagas, Elizabeth is a budding star for VHS. Other schools that have two girls rated are Moanalua High School in Hawaii; Longwood Lyman High School in Florida; Glenbard East High School in Lombard; Illinois, Gateway High School in Kissimmee, Florida; East Technical High School in Cleveland, Ohio; Castle High School in Kaneohe, Hawaii; and Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pere n n i a l good programs at Eureka, California, Thousand Oaks, California, Oviedo, Florida, Amarillo Caprock, Te x a s , Arlington Sam Houston, Texas, and all of the El Paso, Texas schools will continue to produce great female wrestlers. Lynde Baltrusaitis, the 2000 USGWA National Champion at 100 lbs. in her fresh-man year, has moved from Michigan's Caledonia High School to Fort Myers, Florida. She in now attending Estero High School in Estero, Florida. She qualified for the Michigan High School A t h l e t i c Association boys individual state champi-onships last year. I guess golf is her game and she wants to be in weather where she can play and develop year round. That leaves Keristen LaBelle as Michigan's lone returning female state qualifier. To date, Michigan has had four girls qualify for the high school state tourna-ment.The first girl to make it was Saginaw Buena Vista's Cynthia Harrold, in 1999, her....Continued in the January 15, 2001 Issue of Wrestling page 17 |