The NCHSAA Board of Directors announced today that women's wrestling would officially become a sanctioned high school sport in North Carolina starting in the '23-'24 season.

North Carolina recorded a record 594 women participating in high school wrestling for the 21-22 season, making it the 19th largest state in terms of total participation.

Since 2017 the NCHSAA has worked with Team NC Wrestling to offer a NCHSAA Women's Invitational Championship. The event started with 33 girls in 2017 and has grown to nearly 250 participants in 2022.  Nine women also qualified for the boys state championships in 2021, and Heaven Fitch became the first ever female to win a NCHSAA title in 2020.

The NCHSAA and Team NC will continue to partner in offering the women's invitational event for one final season in 22-23 before it becomes a fully sanctioned championship in the 23-24 season.

North Carolina becomes the 35th state in the country to sanction women's wrestling, which is one of the fastest growing scholastic sports in America. The announcement from the NCHSAA comes just  two months ahead of the 50th anniversary of Title IX . Women's wrestling is the first women's sport added to the NCHSAA offerings since 2010.