OHIO — The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the addition of two new varsity sports, boys volleyball and girls wrestling, on Thursday.

What You Need To Know

  • The Ohio High School Athletic Association will begin sanctioning boys volleyball and girls wrestling during the 2022-23 academic year

  • The sports mark OHSAA first additions since the organization added boys and girls lacrosse in 2016

  • The additions brings the total number of sports sanctioned by the OHSAA to 28

  • The OHSAA is also considering options for adding esports

Once the sports are added, for the 2022-23 school year, the OHSAA will sanction 28 varsity sports. The two sports will mark the OHSAA’s first additions since boys and girls lacrosse in 2016.

“I think it’s good to note both coaches associations have put an effort out to sell their young athletes and I appreciate that,” said OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute. 

A number of schools have participated in the sports over the years. The Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association has held a statewide championship since 1988, the OHSAA said. The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association started holding girls wrestling tournaments in 2020.

“We will look to keep a very similar format for the girls wrestling and boys volleyball tournaments as what the coaches associations have been doing,” Ute added. “The girls wrestling state tournament is held in mid-February and the boys volleyball state tournament is held in the spring. We have not yet developed tournament regulations, but we’ll start working on that so that those two sports hit the ground running next fall for the start of the 2022-23 school year.”

Joe Ross coached boys volleyball at Hilliard Darby High School from 2002 to 2015. His team won the Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association Championship in 2015, but he’s happy teams will now be able to compete for a state title.  

“The more validity there will be to those teams who, at the end of it all, will get to say ‘we’re the state champions at the end of the year in our sport,” said Ross. “I think that’s a really motivating thing.”

He says it could also help attract athletes to Ohio colleges and universities.

“The more you expand opportunities for kids at a younger age that growth is going to continue to grow and grow and now you have kids who end up getting the chance to go to college that may not have had the chance to do so,” said Ross.

At the collegiate level, the NCAA sanctions men’s wrestling. The NCAA considers women’s wrestling an “emerging sport,” which means the sport could become a sanctioned varsity sport in the coming years. Additionally, the OHSAA said it's considering sanctioning Esports.

“The OHSAA will look to partner with a group that specializes in Esports, similar to how the OHSAA partnered with varsity spirit for its sideline cheerleading competition that was held for the first time this past December,” said Ute. ​

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