No You Can’t.

Although female wrestling is increasingly growing around the world, three out of the 50 states here in the U.S. contain the most headstrong, influential and motivated young women that call themselves wrestlers . Texas, among the top of these three states, accounts for more than one-fifth of the nations female wrestling population, followed by Hawaii and Washington.

Despite all these young female wrestlers slowly making their way to the top within this “male-dominated” sport, wrestling has continued to become more and more separated within gender barriers. Now, in some states women are no longer able to participate as co-ed in the original [Boys] State Wrestling Tournament that takes place every year near February. Dictators have decided that there needs to be separate seasons and separate competitions and seperate uniforms and never any unity between female wrestlers and male.

Personally, I believe if the girl worked so hard to make her way to the top with defeating guys that it’s almost demeaning to stop them now and say, “No, You must wrestle girls instead.” If you got the meat, then it’s not right to stop the heat. Think about it.

Picture from National Federation of State High School Associations (nfhs.com)

So they say…

It’s amazing how stereotypes plague the world around us. “Girls don’t wrestle.” “Wrestling’s a guy’s sport.” “Women should be in the kitchen where they belong.” I honestly believe I’ve heard them all. The people who make uneducated comments such as these are also the same ones who give you weird looks in the elevator when you slightly throw in your two sense on their conversation about wrestling. Coincidentally, this was the case for me the other day. After listening to two guys discuss the stocky build of wrestlers and how their coach said they were perfect for the sport, down six flights in the elevator, I just said, “Yeah my coach told me we shrink as we get older.” At this point, not even a candid camera would have done the expressions they gave me justice.

Why is it such a shock that women are involved in this sport? So it’s competitive, there’s tons of bumps and bruises and it takes one very strong-willed individual, but I don’t believe it has anything to do with what parts God gives us as humans…Just ask Patricia Miranda. She along with many young female wrestlers fight stereotypes each and every day , and a variety of them at that.

Potentially, these struggles could only make us stronger, but where’s the strength in no support?

I Can Do Anything You Can Do Better.

“Guys are stronger than girls.” Gosh, we hear it ALL the time, especially in this sport. So, technically this MIGHT be true-genetics wise, however, there are certain instances in which men just do not give enough credit to us.

Women must be strong come into such a male-dominated sport. There’s the desire to be great and compete at a high level and then the desire to strive above degrading comments such as the one referring to strength. As a wrestler, we learn where are greatest strengths are, and sorry guys but we got you beat when it comes to legs and hips.

It’s been proven that the reason women athletes can not be a physically in tune as male athletes it because of the difference in muscle development and simple the physiology make-up of our bodies. Women’s muscles develop at about 55% of our body weight, while men’s develop at about 62% . Women are naturally made up of more body fat because about physical occurrences including, but not limited to menstrual cycles and having/carrying children. But this doesn’t mean that we can’t work even harder to be just as strong, if not stronger than our male couterparts–just look at Jill Mills and Becca Swanson!

For me, it gets extremely old hearing this same comment on almost a weekly basis. We are here. We are competing in THIS sport. And we are doing EVERYTHING you are while we’re here. It’s harder for us, it takes more practice, but we don’t complain and don’t give up (at least some of us).

Really? Get over yourselves.

A Loss, A Gain and One Hell of a Woman

For nearly 167 girls-wrestling has become a happening in college . You’ve heard me post prior to this about the lack of availability for females at the collegiate level in the sport of wrestling and honestly–I believe this just further proves my point. Two years ago at the Arizona Girls State Wresting Tournament we topped out at 109 females, given it was K-12, a majority was at the high school level.

What happened to those girls?

Did they just give up on wrestling at the collegiate level? Was it really that there was not enough options or is it that women just move on, lose the passion, lose the desire, lose the will to compete?

Currently at Arizona State there is one female that has gone beyond the expected.
Her name is Kelsey Campbell and although Kelsey only started wrestling while in college, she has gone way beyond any female wrestlers wildest expectations.

Kelsey began wrestling with American Pankration, a MMA school that teaches every form from submission wrestling to muay tai kickboxing. Her passion for the sport grew as she attempted to “walk on” to the male wrestling team here at ASU. Despite her efforts, Kelsey was rewarded with masterful skills in women’s freestyle and went on to compete for the national title in 2007 and 2008 and took the title both years for the 130lb weight class . Although Kelsey does have the Olympic team trials in mind she is planning to compete for the national title this year once again.

Kelsey’s determination to wrestle with the Sun Devil boys did not go without being rewarded as well. After, she decided to make a women’s wrestling club at ASU being there was no program at all for us. I supported Kelsey’s idea and wanted to help in any form possible. We are still in the process…

I felt it necessary to tell of this specific womans accomplishments because Kelsey has gone so far in terms of the sport of women’s wrestling and I personally wish I was half the wrestler she is. Also, I believe Kelsey is a prime example of what girl wrestlers SHOULD be doing after high school rather than simply doing without. Kelsey has fought and will continue to fight for acknowledgment within the sport of female wrestling and I only wish other females would do the same.

Picture from Kelsey Campbell’s Facebook

California Here We Come…

On March 13, 2009 tons of female wrestlers will be in a comletely different state, with completely different people, wrestling for a completely different title than their home state. Due to the cancallation of the Arizona State Wrestling Championships many young women are having to compete in the California State Wrestling Championships, which I see as a little insane.

Competing at State brings a sense of pride, class and dignity knowing that you could indeed be the next best wrestler in your home state where you compete, feel pain, feel temptation, feel victory for many years in some cases. Isn’t it a little less fulfilling to have to drive 6-8 hours to a different state to compete with the girls there that are just as excited to represent their home state too? Given the competition will great due to the amount of girls that wrestle in California (about 3x more than Arizona), where’s the pride in representing anothers state??

Maybe I’m looking at this all wrong, I mean it is about the opportunity to learn and grow as a wrestler with competing against a lot of different competition, however, it’s just not Arizona. Where is the funding for OUR State Wrestling Championships?

…Prolly with the education, housing and credit–down the crapper.