Support “Becoming a Wrestler”
The nation’s fastest-growing high school sport – girls wrestling – is having its moment in Pennsylvania. The number of girl wrestlers in the Commonwealth has increased more than threefold over the past several years, and in July of 2023, Pennsylvania girls won the prestigious U16 Team Title at the Youth National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota. Their victory came on the heels of a major milestone in the sport: just two months earlier, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) voted unanimously to sanction girls wrestling, ensuring that, going forward, Pennsylvania girls will have the same access and opportunities to participate in the sport as their male counterparts. The 2023-2024 season will be the first official season for high school girls wrestling in Pennsylvania history!
WPSU plans to document this critical moment with Becoming a Wrestler, a documentary that explores the explosive growth of girls wrestling in Pennsylvania. This film will examine the evolution of the sport — from youth to professional levels — and will follow athletes from around the state on their journeys to compete in the first-ever officially sanctioned high school season of the sport. Though the film will focus on wrestling, the story is – at its core—about connecting past and present, as a centuries-old sport figures out how to adapt and include.
Support the Project
If you are interested in supporting the project, contact Sarah Caterson at skc123@psu.edu or (814) 863-5533.
