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The Gem State has finally followed in the footsteps of its neighbors.
Tuesday afternoon, the Idaho High School Activities Association announced it had approved a girls-only bracket at the IHSAA State Wrestling Championships starting in 2021-2022.
According to the announcement, more logistical details will soon follow.
Idaho has yet to sanction an official girls wrestling season. While there will be a girls-only bracket at the state tournament in 2021-2022, the regular wrestling season will be considered co-ed.
In years past, should any girls want to compete for a sanctioned state championship, they would have to participate in the boys bracket. Thirteen females competed in 2020's tournament, but none placed.
For years, female wrestlers in Idaho competed in unsanctioned tournament events, such as the Idaho Girls Wrestling Finals. This past year, 111 female wrestlers took part in the event, nearly double that of 2018's attendance.
For more than 25 years, womens wrestling has been one of the fastest growing sports nationwide. As of June 25, 23 states have sanctioned a girls wrestling season at the high school level, including neighboring states like Washington and Oregon. Idaho has yet to make that move.
Meanwhile, the National Federation of State High School Associations reported the number of girls wrestling doubled from around 8,000 nationally in 2012 to more than 16,500 in 2019.
IdahoSports.com will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
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