FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com femcompetitor.com grapplingstars.com Evgeniia-Shikhaleeva-Shutterstock-photo-credit-Editorial-use-
December 13, 2021,
While you were sleeping, girls wrestling in Nevada has been keeping many parents, community members and fans wide awake.
It is growing so fast you had better not take a nap or you will miss out.
On June 29, 2020, teamusa.org educated, “The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA), in its recent Board of Control meeting, approved a Girls Wrestling Invitational to be held alongside its Boys State Wrestling Championships, beginning next season.”
Good to know. What does that mean exactly?
Nevada now can make girls wrestling an emerging sport, or began the process to making girls wrestling a sanctioned sport.
Other states that have girls wrestling associations are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
Did you know that? Or were you napping.
Apparently we were.
Please stay awake. There is more. Especially in terms of health and safety.
We are blessed that female wrestling will resume full force in 2021 after the devastation to all sports participation due to Covid-19 in 2020.
Having said that, understandably the great female sport, filled with close contact, is back with some guidelines.
As reported by mynews4.com, on Friday, August 6, 2021, “Other indoor sports such as basketball or wrestling, for example, were not provided NIAA updates in regards to masking.
The NIAA did, however, mandate boys and girls basketball, wrestling, and football will require weekly COVID testing for team members who aren’t fully vaccinated.”
It is a little puzzling why some would go through the trouble of constantly getting testing as opposed to getting vaccinated and be done with it.
The NIAA appears to have a lot of power and influence. Who are they exactly?
The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for high schools in the state of Nevada.
In addition, five schools in the state of California (Coleville, Needles, North Tahoe, South Tahoe, and Truckee) and one from Arizona (Beaver Dam) are also members as the schools are geographically isolated from other in-state schools.
It is a non-profit organization founded in 1922 as the Nevada Interscholastic League and became affiliated with the National Federation of State High School Associations in 1939.
The league changed its name to the current form in 1967.
The NIAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of competition by divisional separation of schools according to attendance population, and conducts state championship competitions in all the NIAA-sanctioned sports.
It is good to know that they recognize exceptional talent at the highest level.
The NIAA Award of Excellence, which began in 2001, is an award program that awards NIAA-affiliated schools points based on their varsity teams’ performances in academics, athletics, and through the Citizens Through Sports program.
Each of the three major categories in high school activities including academics, athletics and sportsmanship, are weighted equally, and boys and girls programs are combined in the standings table.
Spirit points are added after the conclusion of the winter season and points are deducted for ejections and other unsportsmanlike conduct. The NIAA honors the winning school in each classification by presenting it with a championship banner and commemorative trophy. The NIAA considers the Award of Excellence in Academics, Athletics and Citizenship to be its top overall program.
Wonderful.
That is how others see them. How do they view themselves?
One question we had reflected on is that they seem to have a lot of power as a non-profit. Where do they get their revenue and where does that power emanate from?
We trek over to their home at niaa.com where they happily share, “The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) is a non-profit organization of secondary schools in Nevada. In essence, the NIAA is the governing body of high school athletics and activities in the Silver State as recognized by the Nevada state legislature. It is important to note, however, that the NIAA does NOT receive state funding. The NIAA’s revenue streams are corporate partnerships, event ticket sales and member school’s dues.”
Intriguing.
They are recognized by the Nevada State Legislature but not funded by them.
Simply put, like the rest of us in private industry, they have to hunt for their food.
Further responsibilities of NIAA is the sanctioning activities, conducting post-season tournaments, regulating officials and providing a host of services to its member schools.
According to their website the organization is located at 1188 Victorian Plaza Circle in Sparks, Nevada.
We sense that you have heard of Sparks but have you ever traveled there? We have. Loved it.
Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada.
It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno.
The 2019 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey population count was 105,006.
It is the fifth most populous city in Nevada. It is named after Nevada Governor John Sparks, a member of the Silver Party.
Sparks is located within the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area.
Tourist attractions include the Great Basin Brewing Company, Nugget Casino Resort, and Scheels – The World’s Largest All-Sports Store; featuring multiple indoor displays and exhibits, including an indoor ferris wheel, two giant aquariums one can walk through and under.
We always loved the great room rates at the hotels during the week. If you just want to get away and can during the week, Sparks is a fantastic place to relax and eat some fantastic food at cheap prices because of the Casino tourist influence.
It is a very welcoming city. At their home cityofsparks.us they smile, “Sparks truly is a beautiful and family-oriented community that — along with our neighboring city, Reno — offers picturesque views and the many recreational amenities of the Sierra Nevada.”
The nearby mountains, sometimes snow covered, are breathtaking.
It certainly takes a village to create a wonderful environment for female sports to thrive and grow.
No wonder female grappling is growing at such a rapid pace in Nevada.
That is why we made a point to stay wide awake during this surge.
We certainly would not want to be napping and miss out.
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OPENING PHOTO fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com femcompetitor.com grapplingstars.com Evgeniia-Shikhaleeva-Shutterstock-photo-credit-Editorial-use-
https://mynews4.com/news/local/new-covid-guidelines-issued-for-nevada-high-school-sports
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_Interscholastic_Activities_Association
https://www.niaa.com/information/about
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparks,_Nevada
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
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