Ladies, Don’t Miss Out

By Katie Downing

            More and more opportunities open up each year in the sport of women’s wrestling.  If you love to wrestle, there is no reason not to pursue what may be out there for you.  You can always search for what’s going on in our sport on the internet, but I want to give you a list of some of the possibilities you should check out.  A lot of these are specifically geared towards high school wrestlers who want to continue a wrestling career after graduation. 

The Newsletter

Terry Steiner is the national team coach for women’s wrestling in the US.  He puts together a newsletter to get the word out on what’s going on in our sport.  He sends this out through a group email.  He sends it out to leaders and directors for women’s wrestling in each state (the state director for women in Texas is Chuck Brown) so that they will forward it on to all wrestlers.  You can get your name put onto Coach Steiner’s email list for the newsletter if you want it to come straight to you.  All you have to do is give him a call or email him.  If you catch him on the phone, introduce yourself and tell him a bit about yourself.  If you leave a message or email him, let him know you want to be on the newsletter mailing list, give him your name, your email address, and a phone number he can use to contact you if need be. 

USA Wrestling # is 1-800-999-8531, ask for Terry Steiner

Terry Steiner’s email address is tsteiner@usawrestling.org

College

Being a member of a wrestling team truly enhances the college experience.  A college wrestling team quickly becomes like a family that helps each teammate reach the next level in wrestling and education.  Here’s a list of colleges that have women’s teams, clubs, or are developing a women’s team.  I included the contact information for the coach.  Of course, this may change year to year, so you may want to look up the school online to check out the wrestling programs that way.

Pacific University (OR) Scott Miller- sdmiller@pacificu.edu

Cumberland College (KY), Kip Flanik- kip444@prodigy.net

Lassen College (CA) Vugar Orudjev and Stephanie Murata- email for Murata is samurata51@yahoo.com

Missouri Valley University (MO) Carl Murphree- murphreec@moval.edu

Menlo College (CA) Lee Allen- LDA5660@aol.com

Mac Murray College (IL) Jerry Kelly-jkelly@mac.edu

Cal-State Bakersfield (CA) TJ Kerr- tjkerr@csub.edu

Ursinus College, Pennsylvania Club (PA) Ron Tirpak- rtirpak@ursinus.edu

Univ. of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Club (HI) John Kerley- JDKerley@Yahoo.com

Cleveland State Club (OH) James Martin- M60SemperFi@hotmail.com

Bacone College (OK) Kenard Booker- bookerk@bacone.edu

Olympic Training Center at Northern Michigan University

A new program started this year up at Northern Michigan University with the US Olympic Education Center (USOEC).  This program is designed to give athletes the opportunity to attend college while they train for national and international level competitions.  The women’s coach is Shannyn Gillespie- sgillesp@nmu.edu.  This year, thirteen of the nation’s top university women wrestlers currently attend NMU.  The USOEC is a good opportunity because many of the junior and university age camps will be held there on campus.  Residents in this program can earn tuition and living expenses through the USOEC as well as through the BJ Stupek grant that residents at the OTC in Colorado also receive. 

Funded Access-Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs

You can train a week or two at a time with the nation’s top women wrestlers if you qualify for funded access.  You qualify for funded access by placing at the following tournaments:

US OPEN SENIOR NATIONALS                             Top 10 Olympic Wts, Top 7 Non-Olympic

SENIOR LEVEL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS         All US Athletes Qualify

UNIVERSITY NATIONALS                                      Top 7 Olympic Wts, Top 5 Non-Olympic

FILA JR NATIONALS                                               Top 6 Olympic Wts, Top 4 Non-Olympic

FILA JR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS                      All US Athletes Qualify

FILA CADET NATIONALS                                      Top 5 All Weights

FILA CADET WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS  All US Athletes Qualify

US JR NATIONALS                                                   Top 6 All Weights

If you qualify, then you can train at the OTC with free room and board.  You must find your own way out to Colorado Springs, CO.  You must also contact Terry Steiner to request a training special at least four weeks before you plan to go to the OTC.  If you do not qualify for funded access, you can also request a training special, but you will have to pay $40 a day if there are open rooms at the OTC.  Finally, all practices at the OTC are open for anyone to visit and watch. 

Residency-OTC-Colorado Springs

Ideally, all clubs and college programs are a feeder system for the OTC in Colorado.  It holds the most opportunities for women in wrestling all in one place.  If you gain residency at the OTC, you get free room and board on campus, grant money for college, a sports medicine staff to take care of your health, sports science to provide you info, a sports psychologist, a career center, and the chance to get special benefits in Olympic jobs.  Also, the nation’s top athletes live and train together under two national coaches and a strength training coach.  Terry Steiner is the coach to contact about OTC residency.  All world and national team members receive information about OTC residency at the world team trials.

Tournaments

I encourage you all to get to freestyle competitions as much as possible, because freestyle is where your opportunities will lie once you graduate high school.  There are a number of tournaments that will be good competitions to get experience at the national level. 

Feb. 4-6 is the Dave Schultz International Open.  This is a senior level competition, and there will be several international teams represented there.  It is at the OTC in Colorado, and it is a world team trials qualifier.

March 19-20 is USGWA nationals in Michigan.  This is a folkstyle tournament that is guaranteed to give you a lot of girls in each weight class.

March 24-26 is the Rocky Mountain Regional in Laramie, WY.  It is a world team trials qualifier, and it is open to cadet, junior, university, and senior aged competitors. 

April 8-10 is the Body Bar National championships in San Diego, CA.  Body Bar is the biggest sponsor for women’s wrestling, and they are hosting a freestyle tournament for cadets, juniors, university, and seniors.  The winners of the junior weight classes will represent the US at Junior World Championships

April 28-30 is US Nationals in Las Vegas, NV.  This is a world team qualifier, and one of the toughest competitions for women in the US.  This is also a senior only age event.

June 6-13 is a Cadet tour in Gotzis, Austria

June 17-19 is World Team Trials in Ames, IA.  It is the toughest senior level tournament, and it determines the team that will represent the US at Senior World Championships

July 5-10 is FILA Junior World Championships.  The ladies that won Body Bar Junior Nationals will travel to Lithuania to represent their country.

July 29-30 is Junior National Championships in Fargo, ND.  This is a USA Wrestling event, as opposed to a FILA event that qualifies you for a world championships. This tournament is a great way for you to represent your state at the national level.

August 11-21 is World University Games in Ismir, Turkey.  The highest placing woman at the World Team Trials in Iowa, who is of the FILA University age group, will represent their country.

Here are the ages and weight classes for each division:

Cadet

Age group-born 1988-89 (1990, you must have a medical release)

Weight classes- 79.83.75, 88, 94.75, 101.25, 108, 114.5, 123.25, 132.25, 143.25, 154.25, (170, 185, 220-these weight classes are offered at nationals, but are not FILA weights that are represented at world championships)

Junior

Age group-born 1985-87, (1988, you must have a medical release)

Weight classes-88-97, 105.75, 112.25, 121.25, 130, 138.75, 147.5, 158.5

Senior

Age group- 1985 or before, (1986-88, you must have a medical release)

Weight classes-105.5, 112, 121, 130, 138.5, 147.5, 158.5

Camps

Ladies, keep your eyes and ears open for camp opportunities in your area.  You may want to consider boys high school camps if that is all that is available in your area.  If at all possible, get to some freestyle camps for girls.  This will help you a lot when you make the jump from high school level wrestling to national level wrestling. 

March 28-April 1 is the Future Freestyle camp at the OTC in Colorado.  It is open to   cadets and juniors.  This camp will have the nation’s top athletes and coaches there to teach you.

May 28-June 4 is the Future Freestyle Camp at the Training Center at Northern Michigan University.  It is open to cadets and juniors.

June 25-July 1 is the Future Champion Camp #1 at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs

June 20-30 is the Junior World Team Training Camp at Northern Michigan.  It will be a camp to prepare the Junior World Team for their World Championships.  Both junior and university wrestlers will be there.

July 16-22 is the Future Champion Camp #2 at Northern Michigan

July 20-26 are the state Junior National training camps.  Each state will have camps to   prepare their girls for the competition in Fargo.  Many of these camps will have top ranked senior women there as clinicians.

July 24-Aug 6 is the World University Games Camp at the OTC in Colorado.  It will be a camp for the University National team that will compete at the University Games.

The possibilities continue to grow for women in the sport of wrestling in the US.  Get out there and take advantage of everything you can.  If you love to wrestle, there is no reason not to pursue a career in wrestling after high school.  Start setting high goals for yourself.  You may travel the country and the world doing something you love with people who become great friends through this sport.  You may be an Olympian if you start to want it now.