11/15/23 – Girls’ Wrestling Weight Classes and Season Implementation

November 15, 2023 Athletic Department Blog Updates

Today, the Board of Control took action on a recommendation from staff regarding weight classes for girls’ wrestling.

Our office received considerable feedback following the results of the survey conducted earlier this fall, which was directed to the designated representative of each school as required by KHSAA Bylaws, regarding weight classes for girls’ wrestling. The survey resulted in membership preference for the use of 12 weight classes for girls’ competition while utilizing the boys’ weight classes.

After reviewing the concerns that were relayed to our office, we began working to find a solution that would address those concerns and, as much as possible, honor the results of the survey. Last week, following our request, the NFHS accepted an experimental “12 + 1” proposal from our office that will allow us to conduct the girls’ competition with the Federation’s 12 girls’ weight classes while adding an experimental 285-lb. class on the girls’ side for the 2023-24 season. This will allow the KHSAA to remain in compliance with our Bylaw 22, which mandates that competition comply with NFHS rules, and ensure the continuation of such benefits as the catastrophic insurance that is contingent upon that compliance.

Therefore, for the 2023-24 season, the girls’ weight classes will be as follows:

100, 107, 114, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 165, 185, 235 and 285.

The experiment was only approved for one year and will be evaluated based on continued data review following the 2024 season.

Now that the weight class issue has been settled, we can proceed with setting up the girls’ season in Trackwrestling. With that said, the following steps will take place in the next day:

• Trackwrestling will execute a one-time transfer of all data in the boys’ season (teams, female student-athletes and assessments, coaches, assessors, etc.) into the girls’ season on Thursday, Nov. 16.
• Once the transfer is complete, Trackwrestling will distribute login information to team admins and assessors so they can access the girls’ season.
• After the one-time transfer is complete on Nov. 16, any female student-athlete who intends to compete in both the boys’/coed season and the girls’ season will have to be entered separately in both seasons (including their assessment and any weigh-ins). Female student-athletes who intend to compete in both the boys’/coed season and the girls’ season must be entered in both places.
• There is an additional charge of $10 to utilize the Trackwrestling software for a school that enters a team in the girls-only season (the boys’ season fees are $30 per school).

It is imperative that female student-athletes and teams are uploaded as soon as possible so that additional determinations can be made about the format of the girls’ wrestling postseason, particularly the qualifying round for state.

Any member school that has a female wrestler on its roster who intends to enter the girls’ postseason, should designate at schools.khsaa.org that it is offering girls’ wrestling as a sport and add those individuals to its roster. Coaches and Athletic Directors should work together to confirm that the roster entered in Trackwrestling matches what is entered in the KHSAA system.

– KHSAA –

About the Kentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association was organized in 1917 and is the agency designated by the Kentucky Department of Education to manage high school athletics in the Commonwealth. The Association is a voluntary nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of 290 member schools, both public and non-public. The KHSAA awards 229 state championships to 59 teams and 178 individuals in 13 sports and six sport-activities, funds catastrophic insurance coverage for its more than 109,000 rostered member school student-athletes, provides coaching education and sports safety programs for more than 12,000 coaches and licenses and facilitates the distribution of training material for over 4,000 contest officials.