Girls wrestling will debut as separate DODEA sport in Europe

Plastered on bulletin boards and walls at Ramstein High School are recruitment flyers.

Coaches Thomas Wright and Chad Horne are not seeking out just anybody, though – they’re targeting female wrestlers.

DODEA-Europe is introducing girls wrestling as a varsity sport this winter. It will join a list that includes boys and girls basketball, marksmanship and cheerleading.

Girls have wrestled against boys for decades in Europe and some have been very successful – especially in recent years. Two – Stuttgart’s Mckinley Fielding in 2020 and Ramstein graduate September Snyder in 2023 – fell just points away from individual titles at the 106-pound weight class at the season-ending championships.

“We’ve always had females on our team … we’ve had very competitive females on the team,” Wright said. “This gives them an actual female team to be a part of and have their own opportunity to be European champions.”

DODEA-Europe is following the trend back home. Forty-five states have sanctioned girls wrestling as an official sport as of this academic year. Louisiana is the latest. Of those states, 39 have come since 2018.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), 64,257 participants wrestled on girls teams during the 2023-2024 – double the number who competed in 2021-2022.

That growth isn’t just at the high school level. Earlier this year, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics approved recommending that Divisions I, II and III add a national women’s wrestling championship. If approved during the 2025 NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 15-18, it would become the 91st NCAA championship sport – with a projected first championship in the winter of 2026.

According to the NCAA’s Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Report, a total of 76 programs and 1,226 wrestlers competed in women’s wrestling during the 2023-2024 season.

DODEA European athletic director Kathy Clemmons said discussions with athletes, coaches and parents led to the move in Europe.

“Wrestling, along with marksmanship, had been the only sport in DODEA-Europe where female athletes did not have the opportunity to compete exclusively against each other during the season or at a championship level,” Clemmons said via email.

“By introducing a girls’ wrestling team, we are giving female athletes a new platform to participate, compete, and excel in a sport they are passionate about.”

And Ramstein, the two-time defending Division I wrestling team champion, certainly appears to be trying to set the standard.

A pair of female Royals qualified for the 2024 European championships in Wiesbaden last season in Liberty Snyder at 113 and Genesis Esparza at 120 pounds. Those two are playing a key role in the recruitment process, with their contact information included on the posters along with Wright’s and Horne’s.

So far, 25 girls have expressed interest, according to Wright.

“From what we’ve heard from the girls we’ve had direct contact with and the ones we’ve had indirect contact through our female wrestlers, it’s been pretty positive,” Horne said. “A lot of girls who never even thought about wrestling have been interested, and that’s good.”

Details still are light on how everything will work. One aspect that has been determined, though, is while girls can practice against boys, they won’t be wrestling each other during official matches anymore.

Wright mentioned the possibility of modeling the weight classes on NFHS guidelines. He brought up the possibility of seven weight classes starting at 105 pounds and finishing with a class of 170 and above.

While many of those expressing interest don’t have experience, the Royals have a developmental team of athletes who don’t make the varsity squad and practice a few times per week. Wright said five or six girls were in that group the past two campaigns.

“Obviously, it’s the first year,” Wright said. “Our expectations aren’t as high as they are with some other things, but if we get the word out and we have a large turnout, I think it will be very successful.”

Horne himself has a selfish reason for promoting girls wrestling. He expressed hope the sport will grow by the time his daughter, Jessica, 9, enters high school.

“I’m not planning to get out of DODDS,” Horne said. “I’m hoping it’s something we establish and get going really well by the time she gets in high school, and hopefully she will do it.”