For now, this new girls' postseason championship will be the only event during the 2018-19 season designed exclusively for females. During the regular season, girls within the Bay State will continue to be members of their existing high school teams and compete with boys. However, as the Boston Globe reported, girls will now have a choice for end-of-season competition once Sectional competition is over: to enter the new girls-only tournament or compete against boys in the "mixed gender" All-State championship which begins one day earlier, on Feb. 22.
One unique aspect of the Massachusetts girls' tournament: it will use the Madison Grouping format -- a system that will create the tournament bracket based on age and weight, rather than traditional weight classes that have long been a staple of amateur wrestling tournaments.
As for how many girls compete in wrestling in Massachusetts ... according to statistics compiled by the National Federation of High Schools, 102 girls were involved in wrestling within the state during the 2016-17 school year.
Now those Massachusetts girl wrestlers will have new choices for post-season competition.
"We are thrilled to provide an opportunity to showcase the tremendous female wrestlers that work tirelessly throughout the season," said Phil Napolitano, wrestling liaison for the MIAA. "We look forward to the continued growth of girls' wrestling in the state of Massachusetts."
At least one young female wrestler is eager to participate in the new end-of-season event.
"I am extremely excited about the newly approved girls state tournament," Bristol County Agricultural wrestler Allie Maitland of Dighton, Mass. told the MIAA. "When I started wrestling, I did it to step out of the standards for women and be different. Lately I've been questioning if I'm doing the right thing, but this opportunity proves to me I'm following the right path and keeping true to myself."
Massachusetts joins a number of states that have sanctioned wrestling events specifically for high school girls. In recent months, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri and Oregon have announced separate competitions for girl wrestlers ... joining existing programs in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Texas and Washington State, with other states exploring the option.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now