Girls’ wrestling earns KHSAA sanctioning; new venue sought for sport’s championship meets
Girls’ wrestling, which has seen tremendous growth over the last few years, will have Kentucky High School Athletic Association sanctioned championships next season after gaining approval Wednesday by the organization’s board of control.
The board will also seek a new venue for its wrestling championships in order that the boys’ event can be held back-to-back with the new girls’ event and return the sport to a single weekend of competition rather than the split format it has had since the pandemic.
This year’s KHSAA State Wrestling Championships continue Saturday with the final round of matches at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, what once was a singular state championship weekend that was long held at Alltech Arena in Lexington has been split into “First Round” and “Final Round” competitions. That decision had been based in part on social distancing concerns and restrictions on crowds in such venues.
But with social distancing no longer an issue and pandemic ticketing restrictions lifted, the high school venues capacity limits have become a new problem. This year’s first rounds were held last week at Atherton High School in Louisville and Ryle High School in Union.
Concerns about overcrowding and athlete safety at these events under the current format sparked an online petition this week that has been circulating on social media and had 5,370 signees Thursday morning on Change.org.
KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett told the Herald-Leader on Wednesday that the petition did not factor into the board’s decision because a venue change for wrestling has already been “months in the works.”
While girls’ wrestling has grown substantially since the Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association began running its own girls’ state championships in 2019, its numbers are still far fewer than boys’ wrestling. So, the KHSAA will be conducting a survey of its membership on the girls’ postseason structure. Boys’ wrestling schools are divided into eight regions for state qualifying. The girls’ sport will need its own format. The survey will also seek input on a new venue for the main events.
“We look forward to gathering data from our school athletic administrators on this important site selection,” Tackett said in the KHSAA’s press release on Wednesday’s board meeting. “We have had some unfortunate situations at past venues where we were forced to find an alternate host for a couple of years, including impact from the pandemic. But we are thankful for a reset and an opportunity to certainly elevate the girls’ event from its operations the last couple of years outside of our management while re-energizing our boys’ event format at the same time.”
