Marina GoocherThe NCWA is independent of the NCAA which governs most intercollegiate wrestling programs in the U.S.
The NCWA -- like most other organizations governing college wrestling -- features separate competitions for men and women. The NCWA's Code of Competition prohibits men from wrestling women for insurance reasons. This rule governs not only actual matches, but practice sessions as well.
"Our rules and insurance coverages do not permit male vs. female practice or competition," the NCWA Code of Conduct states. "This type of combative activity is not covered under your NCWA provided insurance. Any competition or combative practice will void your liability and injury coverage."
The Code of Conduct continues, "The NCWA has developed two separate and distinct divisions for the purpose of providing men and women the opportunity to compete in wrestling at the college level while protecting athletes from injury or possible abuse."
With that in mind, the wrestling club at UM-Dearborn has made it clear that Goocher -- the only woman on the squad -- is not to practice with her male teammates.
"When I enrolled in college at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, the wrestling coach and the wrestlers, all of whom were men, warmly welcomed me because they knew I could help the team win," Goocher said in a statement at the ACLU website. "But right now, as the wrestling season begins, I have to sit on the bench the entire regular season -- simply because I am a woman."
"NCWA's rule is based on antiquated gender stereotypes, including assumptions about differences between men and women," Galen Sherwin, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Women's Rights Project, was quoted at Mlive.com, a website for multiple daily newspapers in Michigan.
"Women like Marina prove these stereotypes in strength between male and female athletes and outdated notions about the propriety of physical contact wrong," Sherwin continued. "All women deserve equal opportunities to participate in athletics, including contact sports like wrestling."
Goocher has an impressive wrestling resume. As the only girl on the Riverview Community High School in Michigan, she won over 100 matches against both boys and girls. Goocher also won three United States Girls' Wrestling Association titles and a USA Wrestling title. At UM-Dearborn, she has claimed two NCWA titles at the women's national championships, in the 130-pound class as a freshman in 2016 and in the 136-pound class as a sophomore in March.
The news coming out of Michigan regarding Marina Goocher's quest to wrestle women and men comes in light of positive developments in women's wrestling in the U.S. in the past year or so. Among the highlights: Helen Maroulis becoming the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling at the 2016 Rio Games ... the addition of new women's college wrestling programs ... and a move to make women's wrestling an official NCAA sport, endorsed by University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands.
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