What you can wear

The two piece option is real, and it is your choice

Under NFHS Rule 4-1-1, every wrestler may choose between the traditional one piece singlet and a two piece uniform. The two piece is:

• Compression shorts or wrestling shorts, minimum four inch inseam, not extending below the knee
• A form fitted compression shirt, not extending below the elbow, with a minimum three inch tail

This is not a girls only rule and it is not a special accommodation you have to request. It has been an option in the rule book since the 2017-18 season, and Cliff Keen and others sell the pieces as a matched set. The catch and the full requirements are in the complete two piece guide, including the part most people miss: both pieces must be school issued.

Worth knowing because a lot of girls quietly decide whether to keep wrestling based on how they feel in a one piece, and a fair number of programs never mention the alternative exists.

Sports bras: required, Rule 4-1-1a

A sports bra is required for female wrestlers, and it must fully cover the breasts and minimize the risk of exposure. A compression shirt under a one piece singlet is permitted, and required only if it is needed for full coverage.

The NFHS officials' guide for girls wrestling is unusually blunt about the equipment itself:

Boys singlets are not designed for female wrestlers. Girls' cut singlets are the optimal choice for NFHS wrestling.

That is the governing body saying it, not us. If your program is issuing boys' cut singlets to the girls' team, that sentence is the one to bring to the athletic director.

Practical constraints, which the rule does not spell out but every official enforces on sight: no zippers, no clasps, no exposed metal. They scratch, and they catch on singlet fabric.

Hair

Before 2020-21, hair could not extend below the collar, earlobes, or eyebrows without a legal hair cover. That restriction was eliminated. Hair covering is optional now regardless of length.

If you do wear one:

• It must be solid, non abrasive material
• It must attach to the ear guards

Hair devices got their own update for 2022-23. Under Rule 4-2-1, hair control devices and adornments, including beads, bobby pins and barrettes, are now permitted when they are securely fastened and do not present an increased risk to you or your opponent. Older advice, including an earlier version of this page, said those were banned outright. That was the pre-2022 rule.

The standard the official applies is secure and safe, not a list. Something hard that sits close to the head and cannot come loose can pass; anything sharp or loose will not. Rubber bands and hair ties were never the problem. One edge case worth knowing: decorative hair charms are treated as jewelry, and jewelry is not allowed in wrestling.

The technique most people land on is a high, tight braid started at the scalp, because a ponytail alone does not survive a live match. Caps designed for textured hair exist and are legal if they meet the material and attachment rules above. The full hair rules guide has the complete timeline, the religious headwear rules, and the college contrast.

Jewelry

No jewelry. Watches, necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings. Taping over earrings does not make them legal, which surprises people every season.

The standard exceptions:

• Medical alert jewelry, allowed when taped down so it stays readable
• Religious items, allowed when taped and worn under the uniform, usually with documentation given to officials in advance

Note on sourcing: this is the standard NFHS pattern across sports and it is enforced this way in wrestling, but we have not personally read the specific wrestling rule book article that states it, so we are not citing a rule number for this section. Everything else on this page carries one.

Coming in 2027

Effective July 1, 2027, school names, nicknames, logos, mascots, weight class, and the wrestler's own name will be permitted on uniforms. Manufacturer logos stay capped at 2.25 square inches, including on legal hair coverings.