Middle School Girl Wrestling

[Vpoellot]

I am the parent of a female middle school wrestler in the state of West Virginia. She has not been allowed to go to any meets this year because of unfair treatment. I have contacted the wvssac and have yet to hear back. I called the BOE and they had me meet with their lawyer. I did and explained my daughter's situation, he has yet to respond back.

My daughter went to the mandated weight verification performed by a doctor who was contracted through the county. On the form itself it states that female wrestlers must be over 14% body fat. My daughter is currently about 18% body fat. Her current weight fluctuates from 89lbs-95lbs depending on when she weighs ( she has never skipped a meal or dehydrated because we never thought weight would be an issue). There is a 90lb spot that she earned for her team. The doctor who performed the certification told her to gain weight or find a different sport. When I put her information into a calculator it seems he verified her for 21% instead of 14%. This puts her at a minimum weight class of 102. He reccomended that she not be allowed on the mat unless she can weigh 99.6lbs. My daughter and I both tried to inform him if the mistake but I was told the math was very hard and he didn't expect me to understand it but to trust him that boys and girls are just different and this sport isn't for her.

So far she has missed two meets and was not even allowed on the bus to travel to the most recent meet. All she wants to do is wrestle under the state regulations but I have been unable to get a response to my complaint that this doctor did not follow the state requirement and evaluated her with bias. Every other child evaluated that night (all males) to my knowledge were given a minimum weight under their current weight because none of them were already at or below the state suggested 9% for males. My daughter appears to be the only female and the only child being held to an arbitrary standard above the state reccomendation. Tomorrow is the deadline for appeal of weight. None of my 5 calls to the wvssac over the last two weeks have been returned. My meeting with the lawyer was over a week ago and he has not returned any of my calls since.

At this point my daughter is at her brother's club practice since she was separated from her team tonight. She has been in tears over this and so have I. I don't know what else to do or who else to talk to. Her coach said he feels sorry for her and thinks this is ridiculous. Her school principal and assistant principal think this is unfair. A coach for another school in our county seemed upset at the unfair treatment of my daughter. The middle school athletic director stated he doesn't understand it. The only thing they all agree on is that there is nothing they can do about it.

Is there anyone on here that can tell me who will actually take my calls that CAN do something about it?

[mscoach26]

I would contact the local TV stations as well as the ones in Parkersburg where the WVSSAC is. They HATE negative publicity and perhaps this will get them off the dime. In this age of daily stories about "the war on women", I would play that card! I had a wrestler once (Male) who certified at 128 weighing 130 and over the course of the season - not cutting weight just our regular tough practices he lost down to about 115 but could not wrestle 116 or 123 due to his certification. Another case, I had a kid who just naturally had no body fat, tall and lanky and not yet to puberty. He had also just finished up cross country. He was not allowed to wrestle at all because he was below the allowable body fat. The WVSSAC can be hard to deal with for sure. Best of luck to you and your daughter.

[drphil]

Request an evaluation by another clinician. There are a number of people who are qualified to make this determination.

[Pwzmom]

another thing to do if you feel the fold test is inaccurate you can also have the hydro body mass index done at Marshall university sports science complex. It only cost us 10$ last year. Also you can contact Dr Elkins
Lincoln County Primary Care Center, Inc. Type: Primary Care Center Clinic Stats: FQHC Address: 7400 Lynn Avenue Hamlin, WV 25523 County: Lincoln Phone: 304-824-5806. Hope this information helps and if you have any other questions feel free to message me 3046333848 crystal campbell

[Panther_coach]

One caveat, back when I was coaching the original assessment could not be over ridden by another physician. You might want to check on that first to make sure before you make a trip to Marshall or Lincoln County. I always used a physician whose son was a college wrestler so he was well aware of all the ins and outs of the certification process. Best of luck to you and your daughter!
JL

[Vpoellot]

The form does stipulate that there are no second evaluations without WVSSAC appeal approval in which case the child must be taken to Marshall or WVU. Unfortunately WVSSAC has not approved for the hydro testing so as far as i understand it the game is over and my daughter will not wrestle this season. Thank you those who tried to help me with my last ditch effort!

[mscoach4]

Does the no reevaluation stipulation include the original doctor being asked to take another look at it? It couldn't hurt to ask him if he is willing. I know the doctor in question is a good guy.

[Vpoellot]

I asked this very question to the middle school athletic director and was was informed that the doctor will not re-evaluate her