OHIO — The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the addition of two new varsity sports, boys volleyball and girls wrestling, on Thursday.
Once the sports are added, the OHSAA will sanction 28 varsity sports. The two sports will mark OSHAA’s first additions since the organization added boys and girls lacrosse in 2016.
A number of schools have participated in the sports. The Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association has held a statewide championship since 1988, the OHSAA said. The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association started holding girls wrestling tournaments in 2020.
“We will look to keep a very similar format for the girls wrestling and boys volleyball tournaments as what the coaches associations have been doing,” OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute said. “The girls wrestling state tournament is held in mid-February and the boys volleyball state tournament is held in the spring. We have not yet developed tournament regulations, but we’ll start working on that so that those two sports hit the ground running next fall for the start of the 2022-23 school year.”
At the collegiate level, the NCAA sanctions men’s wrestling. The NCAA considers women’s wrestling an “emerging sport,” which means the sport could become a sanctioned varsity sport in the coming years.
Additionally, the OHSAA said it’s considering sancitioning esports.
“The OHSAA will look to partner with a group that specializes in esports, similar to how the OHSAA partnered with varsity spirit for its sideline cheerleading competition that was held for the first time this past December,” OHSAA said.
