The NCAA has taken a significant step in endorsing women’s wrestling as an emerging sport across all 3 divisions, alongside acrobatics and tumbling starting from August 1st, 2020. Over the years, women have faced discrimination in the wrestling arena, making this initiative a groundbreaking move towards promoting inclusivity in the realm of sports.
For women’s wrestling to gain recognition as an emerging sport, it requires 20 colleges to field teams and 40 varsity programs. Currently, there are 23 NCAA colleges with women’s wrestling teams, and 13 colleges are in the process of establishing teams, only a few short of the required number to attain emerging sport status. The hope is that by 2020, there will be enough interest among women to propel wrestling into the realm of emerging sports. Since 2017, wrestling organizations and the United States Olympic Committee have been striving to secure emerging sports status for women’s wrestling, emphasizing the cost-effectiveness of wrestling and the potential for a surge in women coaches.
The Olympics created a stir in 2013 when they briefly considered eliminating women’s wrestling from their lineup. Furthermore, the International Olympic Committee has been somewhat hesitant in promoting gender equity and representation in sports, often favoring a more conventional approach. Nonetheless, with the ongoing feminist movement and women’s increasing sense of empowerment, sports like wrestling are gradually being recognized as both men’s and women’s sports.
