History of High School and College Wrestling Sport

History of High School and College Wrestling Sport

Introduction

The chronicles of wrestling as a sport and part of students learning can be traced back to its origins in the Mediterranean. . The Ancient Romans and Greeks are recognized with developing numerous special styles of wrestling that are being employed even in contemporary times. For the early Greeks, Wrestling history used to be like a rite of passage and a means of culture. Students were supposed to learn wrestling as a part of their regular curriculum during their school times. It was a revered form of physical activity that took the greatest power and elegance but when exercised with anger is a lethal form of fight. In USA, Wrestling initiated in the 1900's to become regular sports all over the states and reached school and college campuses becoming the a mainstream activity. High school and college wrestling and programs started to develop and expand everywhere and are normal all over the United States in contemporary times.

Discussion

During late 1800s and early 1900s, wrestling was known as Catch-as-catch-on' in American. It derived its name from the local sport which started among neighborhood boys who endeavored to grip and catch their adversary in any way possible they could. The main credit of wrestling development goes to Iowa where wresting became a famous game in the 1880s. There are many well known names of that times including Martin “Farmer” Burns from Wheatland who would travelled around and invited challengers for a wrestling match against money. It was also Farmer Burns who himself started a wrestling school and started teaching his style of wrestling to others. Moreover, he also developed a mail order course named “"Lessons in Wrestling and Physical Culture" consisting of twelve lessons focusing on exercise, wrestling methods, and general tips related to healthy practices. It was also Burns who trained Frank Gotch who later became a world champion of 'catch-as-catch-can' wrestling. Gotch was brought up on a local farm near Humboldt and quickly became a favorite in the state of Iowa. From Babies and their toys and from buildings to farm equipment, all were branded with his name. In fact, even after so many years, he is considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of history.

The contribution of Farmer Burns and Frank Gotch was very vital in making wrestling an important sports activity in the American in general and Iowa in specific. In 1911, a team was organized at the University level which culminated in making the Iowa state number one in 1923. The first intercollegiate wrestling team in University of Northern Iowa's history formed in 1923. The first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Wrestling Championships were held in Ames in 1912. High school state wrestling atournaments astarted ain a1921 awhen aCedar aRapids aWashington adefeated a19 aother aschools ato abecome astate achampions. aTournaments ahave abeen aheld aevery ayear asince athen. aSince a1926 athe atournaments ahave abeen asponsored aby athe aIowa aHigh aSchool aAthletic ...