New Jersey Adds Girls High School Wrestling For 2018-19

More wrestlers will have their hands raised in Atlantic City this winter, and they won’t all be of the same gender.

The New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) unanimously approved the creation of a state wrestling tournament for girls in October, according to the Asbury Park Press.

The girls' tournament will consist of eight weight classes, and will be held in Atlantic City the first weekend of March, along with the boys' tournament. It will begin at the regional level, with locations to be determined. There will be a North Jersey Region and a South Jersey Region.

A total of 126 girls were certified to wrestle in New Jersey last year, according to northjersey.com. Until now, they have had to wrestle boys, but the NJSIAA believes more girls will be interested in wrestling if they can compete against other girls.

New Jersey is the first state in the northeast and 12th in the country to offer girls wrestling, according to nj.com. Some recreation programs in both North and South Jersey already offer girls wrestling as a sport.

Monday, Nov. 26, was the official start date for practice. To view the full calendar for the 2018-19 high school wrestling season in New Jersey, visit njsiaa.org.

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