OHSAA adoption should fuel girls wrestling, boys volleyball

On Feb 3, 2022

One typical characteristic of something that’s healthy is that it grows.

Two sports that the Ohio High School Athletic Association believes fall into that category, girls wrestling and boys volleyball, recently were added as “emerging” sports beginning with the 2022-23 school year.

It’s no surprise that girls wrestling has made this latest move considering how quickly and large of a following it has developed in a relatively short time.

After more than 250 competitors representing nearly 100 schools entered the first state tournament in February 2020, the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association added district competition in 2021. Then on Jan. 23, Olentangy Orange won the first state dual tournament.

Factoring in that much of the rapid increase in participation has taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic, these successes are even more impressive.

The district tournaments, which are scheduled for Feb. 13 at Orange, Marysville, Harrison and Rocky River Lutheran West, should be more competitive than a year ago and will get tougher every year from here on out simply because there are more girls participating.

The fascination with this sport has been building like a snowball rolling down a mountain and the OHSAA recognized that, creating for it a new potential revenue stream after nearly two years of difficulties caused by the pandemic but also something that meets its criteria of providing more opportunities for student-athletes.

The expectation now is that the OHSAA’s adoption of girls wrestling will keep the avalanche of interest going.

That’s also the hope for boys volleyball, which has taken a different path to get to this point. The sport certainly has paid its dues considering it has been holding state tournaments every spring since 1988.

There are expected to be 91 schools, including 35 from central Ohio, participating in boys volleyball this spring.

That number is up by five from a year ago but is similar to the number it has been hovering around for several years.

Having just 109 men’s college volleyball programs among the NCAA’s three divisions means that opportunities for scholarships are limited, which hasn’t helped the sport’s overall growth.

The OHSAA traditionally has used 150 participating schools as a benchmark for when considering to sanction a sport.

While girls wrestling is well on its way to reaching that mark, boys volleyball likely will make a more gradual climb to get there, hopefully similar to the one boys and girls lacrosse made when the OHSAA moved them from the “emerging” category to being officially sanctioned beginning this year.

There are expected to be 145 boys lacrosse and 131 girls lacrosse programs this spring, which is up slightly from when the first OHSAA state tournaments were held in 2018.

The OHSAA administers “emerging” sports like its other sports, but imposes additional requirements that could lead to full sanctioning.

Followers of boys volleyball, along with the OHSAA, can look to its addition of a second division in 2008 as a sign that it should see growth over the coming years.

The OHSAA isn’t opposed to thinking outside the box, with the latest evidence coming during its announcement Jan. 13 that it also is investigating the idea of adding Esports competition.

The decision to add boys and girls bowling, which has held state tournaments since 2007, has been a boon to the OHSAA and for those who might not have participated in other more traditional prep sports.