LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR CHANGE IN NSAA RULES AND REGULATIONS
Title:

NSAA Girls Wrestling Classification Proposal - Adding Class B

Author:Cody Wintz
School:Battle Creek
NSAA District:3
 
Proposal for:Activities Manual
 
Classes Affected:All
Activities Affected:Girls Wrestling
This proposal:WILL NOT increase costs to the school
WILL increase costs to the NSAA
WILL NOT increase travel for participating schools
WILL NOT decrease a student's or coach's instruction time
Implementation date:2024-09-21
Sections affected in Activities Manual:Page
17-18
Article

Section
Classification
Summary:The girls wrestling classifications will be determined by the following method: Girls wrestling teams will be divided into two (2) classes based on girls enrollment. Class A would be for the largest 56 schools based on girl enrollment and remaining schools placed in Class B. The total number of teams will be divided across the 4 districts in both classes. District assignments will be determined using the current method as described in the NSAA Wrestling Manual.

Note: Using 2022-2023 enrollment Class A would be 56 schools and Class B would be 101
Rationale:The following rationale is from a Coaches Survey May 2023

Section 2: Team Participation

1. Do you anticipate having more girls participating than last season (90 responses) 84.4 % of the coaches anticipate growth with an additional 13% showing the same results

2. Of the 90 responses submitted, in anticipation for next season, which criteria best characterizes your program? 5 or more participants: 32.2% 10 or more participants: 21.1% 15 or more participants: 10% 20 or more participants: 16.7% 5 or less are expected: 20%

3. Are you in favor of a Girls Dual State Championship? (104 responses) Yes, with the current 1 class format: 23.1 % Only after a split into 2 classes: 32.7 % No, not at this time: 44.2 %

4. Are you satisfied with the current District format of four districts populated by a formula of returning point criteria and geographic location? (104 responses) Yes: 43.3 % No: 38.5 % Not Sure: 18.3 %

5. If the numbers warrant a split to two or more classes, would you be in favor of a split to Class A & Class B (last year we had 1,263 girls participating) (104 responses) Yes, based off of a 1600 participants criteria: 28.8 % Yes, based off of current numbers: 68.3 % No, remain one class for now and into the future

6. Are you satisfied with keeping the Girls and Boys State Championships together as is for now, or would you prefer a full or partial split? (104 responses) Yes, keep the State Championships together as is now: 52.9 % Prefer a partial or full calendar split of the event: 35.6 % No preference: 11.5 %

The following rational is based on NSAA 2022- 2023 girls enrollment numbers Class A: Class A would consist of the 56 largest NSAA schools, which would allow the class to be divided into 4 districts of 14 teams. Last years number of girls out for wrestling for the 56 largest schools was 646 wrestlers of which 538 wrestlers could have possibly been eligible to wrestle in districts Note: Class A boys numbers for 2022-2023 was 396 that wrestled at districts Class B: Class B would consist of the 57 or more NSAA schools with girls wrestling Last years numbers of girls out for wrestling in the remaining schools was 485 wrestlers of which 474 wrestlers could have been eligible for district competition Note: Class B boys numbers for 2022-2023 was 525 that wrestled in districts.
Pros:-Will further promote the growth of girls wrestling by getting similar-sized schools classified together.

-We are currently classifying over 150 schools together in one class. We don't do this in any other sport/activity. This proposal would help smaller schools continue to get numbers out.
Cons: