The first thing that people usually think about when they hear women’s wrestling is fake television acting with dramatized moves and phony story plot lines. Though, that is not the actuality of what it is as a high school and competitive global sport. Women’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport for girls in the entire world. It’s trending and on the rise now. Though there is a big question to be answered: why was it not always a girls sport to begin with?

Isabella Rodriguez (10), a wrestler for two years and now on the Yorba Linda High School Team says that, “It has always been traditionally looked at as a boys sport since the beginning.” Wrestling originated far back in time with traces of it mentioned in the Old Testament and in ancient Egyptian times. (olympic.org) During these times, the only people who were considered warriors of the craft of wrestling were men. This, is  the cause for wrestling to be traditionally a boys sport. 

To add on to this, it should be equally a girls sport because as Isabella Rodriguez (10) adds, “It is like the posters always say, ‘girls can do it too!’’’ In agreement to her, girls are as equally qualified as boys  to partake in the sport of wrestling due to the fact that the sport is primarily a mental sport. Wrestling requires a very strong mental will and toughness that girls and boys have to both work for. This adds onto the physical strength that needs to be built and used during matches as well as practice. 

During pre-season, the girls and the boys at Yorba Linda High School do the exact same workouts, such as weight lifting, running, and wrestling drills that perfect moves. There are four girls on the team right now: Karina Shah (10), Rahaf Ibrahim (10), Kameron Sodul (10), and Isabella Rodriguez (10). They hope for new wrestlers during season that are transferring from other sports. 

Wrestling is the fastest growing women’s sport in the world partly accounted for by the decline of a traditional society. In this society it is based in a time when men were superior to women. Though, there are still people who exist in which they think girls are less capable, women as a whole are getting more and more opportunities to show that they have the same worth as men do. Wrestling is one of the ways women can do that too!