Pathways to Sponsored Programs

Below are suggestions for possible pathways to build women’s wrestling programs at your institution.

University Sponsored Women’s Wrestling Club

Training:

  • Scheduled workouts with club team
  • If athlete qualifies, they can also train at RTC practices

Competition:

  • Women’s Wrestling Open Tournaments

  • USA Wrestling Events

  • Scrimmages and clinics with D1, D2, and D3 teams as well as other women’s wrestling clubs

  • Women’s Divisions at Men’s D1 tournaments

  • Feature matchups before or after men’s collegiate wrestling events

Funding:

  • Varies from school to school, but could possibly come from alumni donations and / or funding policies for club sports at individual schools

Pros:

  • It lays the groundwork for a varsity program and promotes a team rather than the individual competitor

  • Provides a way for women to be entered into trackwrestling’s female OPC system so they can certify to wrestling at OPC events

  • An active club team shows the administration that the student body has interest in the sport

  • Can build a women’s wrestling club alongside other efforts to grow training opportunities through collaboration with the men’s wrestling team and any nearby regional training centers

  • Provides opportunities for women at schools to be introduced to the sport

Cons:

  • More experienced women will most likely need additional training opportunities outside of the club to meet their needs

  • The current men’s wrestling team would not necessarily be directly connected to a women’s wrestling club

  • The process to apply for a club varies at each school and the process can be lengthy. *Resources are available from schools that have already gone through the process

University Sponsored Women’s Wrestling Club

Regional Training Center

Training:

  • Scheduled workouts with regional training center

  • Athletes must meet RTC criteria listed on the USA Wrestling website

  • Athletes can train with the RTC and also be a member of the women’s freestyle club at their school

Competition:

  • Women’s Wrestling Open Tournaments

  • USA Wrestling Events

  • Scrimmages and clinics with D1, D2, and D3 teams as well as other women’s wrestling clubs

  • Feature matchups before or after men’s collegiate wrestling events

Funding:

  • RTC funding

  • Private funding

Pros:

  • Provides high level freestyle training for women who are more experienced in the sport of wrestling

  • Athletes who are looking to compete heavily under USA Wrestling and in freestyle might opt to devote most of their time and training to an RTC

  • Regional training centers typically have well established relationships with nearby wrestling programs and could help to develop collaborative relationships

  • Athletes have access to coaching support for competitions throughout the year

  • Athletes can be a part of an RTC and also be involved in helping to grow a female wrestling club at their school

Cons:

  • Athletes must qualify through USA Wrestling criteria to participate in RTC programming

  • Regional training centers are not directly attached to schools

Regional Training Center

Increasing Women’s Wrestling Visibility at Your College or University

  • D1 men’s teams or RTCs can add a women’s section to their website. The section can include specific ways the D1 team or RTC supports or intends to support the growth of women’s collegiate wrestling
  • Every D1 men’s team, RTC, coach, fan, athlete, etc. can post pictures of women’s wrestling on social media accounts.
  • Our entire national wrestling community can commit to be better consumers of women’s wrestling in the media. Read, watch and share it out.

  • Invite female wrestling mentors from your area into your program to speak to your team

  • Reach out to alumni and your school’s wrestling fan base to see who might be interested in helping with women’s wrestling initiatives. Create a working group that meets regularly and works actively to support the female wrestlers on campus.

  • Follow Women’s D1 Wrestling social media accounts, actively comment, and share ideas for posts: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. If you would like to help with adding content to these social media pages, reach out to Lori Ayres: ayreslori@gmail.com

  • If you have female athletes rostered to the men’s team or your school’s women’s wrestling club, help to purchase them women’s cut wrestling gear with school logos.

  • Be creative with competition opportunities. Find ways to invite female wrestlers to participate in as many team related events as possible.

  • Invite administration to watch female athletes compete in feature matchups that occur before or after scheduled wrestling events.

  • Plan to include open women’s divisions at pre-existing D1 men’s tournaments