WCWA facts
- Collegiate women's wrestling is administered by the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association while awaiting formal certification by the various college athletic associations in the United States (NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, etc.).
- The WCWA conducts meets with 10 weight classes in the freestyle format: 101 pounds, 109, 116, 123, 130, 136, 143, 155, 170 and 191.
- Women's wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004, with competition currently in six freestyle weight classes. American women's wrestlers have earned five medals (one gold, one silver, three bronze) in Olympic competition.
- According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, the number of girls who wrestle at the high school level has grown from 804 in 1994 to 16,562 in 2018, and 16 states now sponsor high school girls' wrestling championships.
- In recent years, the NWCA has added a 16-team women's wrestling dual-meet championship to its annual Multi-Divisional National Duals event each January.
- Several wrestling organizations, including Wrestle Like A Girl, Inc., the NWCA, USA Wrestling, the U.S. Olympic Committee and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, have petitioned the NCAA to add wrestling to its list of "emerging sports" for women, which could significantly speed the sport's growth at the collegiate level.
- Since 1994, the number of women who wrestle in high school has grown from 804 to 16,562 (as of 2018)
- In 2019 the Committee on Women’s Athletics Recommends Emerging Sports Status for Women’s Wrestling to the NCAA
- 63 colleges now sponsor a varsity wrestling program.
- Since 2004, women’s wrestling is now a recognized Olympic sport.
- Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington sanction an official scholastic state championship.
- Women’s high wrestling participation numbers are higher than the NCAA sponsored sports of crew, fencing, skiing, and rifle and NCAA emerging sports of rugby, sand volleyball, and equestrian.
- The NWCA in conjunction with USA Wrestling and Lock Haven University conducted the first of its kind CEO Leadership Academy for coaches of women’s teams.
- Since 2015, the NWCA has invited 100 Coaches to take part in the NWCA CEO Academy for Women’s Coaches as part of the NWCA Traditional Leadership Academy in Fort Lauderdale.
- NWCA has been instrumental in getting women’s wrestling added as a new sport a number of schools
