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Abington Heights board hears proposal to start girls wrestling; staff to return with plan for May 21
Summary
District staff described a proposal to create a girls high-school wrestling program with a feeder component, outlined near-term timelines and facility constraints, and asked the board to consider a formal action at its May 21 meeting.
Abington Heights School District officials presented a proposal to start a girls high-school wrestling program and asked the board to allow staff time to prepare a detailed plan for formal consideration at the board's May 21 meeting.
The proposal, presented by Enrico (staff member), said girls wrestling is “currently the the fastest growing high school sport in The United States,” and that Abington Heights already has local programs and nearby competitors that would make scheduling feasible. Enrico said the district had three or four girls participating at the junior-high level and predicted incremental growth if the high-school program is established, projecting “if we end up with 5 girls, I think that's a win” in year one and forecasting “probably get up to about 15 to 20 on a roster” by year three.
District staff described operational challenges if the program is approved, including limited locker-room capacity (girls currently change in a bathroom during tournaments), gym and practice-space scheduling, and transportation for tournament-driven competition. Enrico recommended hiring a dedicated head coach for girls wrestling rather than folding the program under the boys' program; he said the district could pursue a head coach hire this summer and hoped to have a coach in place before Aug. 1 to recruit and register students.
Board members asked about compliance with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) and whether registering a separate girls program would create conflicts with boys' competition points; Enrico said he did not believe registration would preclude competition next school year as long as the district registers the separate girls program and manages competition-point rules.
Superintendent Dr. Schaeffer and several board members encouraged public input and requested a concise one-page budget-and-plan summary that would be posted 24 hours before the May 21 meeting. Dr. Schaeffer said he would “skinny it down,” consult with other administrators and post the item as an action item for the May 21 agenda so the board could vote with public comment and specific cost information available.
No formal vote was taken on May 7; the board provided direction to staff to return with a recommendation, schedule and budget for May 21.
The matter will return to the board as an agenda item on May 21, with staff-supplied cost estimates, recommended hiring approach and a suggested timeline for PIAA registration and student recruitment.
