COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Body Bar Women's Nationals typically brings out a field that includes the best young female wrestlers in the country.

And this year's Body Bar event, the major age-group national championships for women's wrestling, is no exception.

The 2008 Body Bar event kicked off on Friday night with competition in the FILA Cadet class at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

In addition to FILA Cadets, competition will be held in the FILA Junior division on Saturday. In addition, a Girls Freestyle National Championship will be held for two age divisions, grades 3-6 and grades 7-8. The Girls Championships also are scheduled for Saturday.

"I'm very happy with the wrestlers we have here," said Vladislav "Izzy" Izboinikov, USA Wrestling National Assistant Women's Coach. "All of our top young wrestlers are here, which is great to see. This is a great opportunity to see all of our girls competing against each other in an event like this."

Among the wrestlers expected to compete in the FILA Junior division in freestyle are 2007 Junior World champion Whitney Conder and 2006 Junior World champion Nicole Woody. Also expected to wrestle is 2007 Junior World silver medalist Tatiana Padilla and 2007 Junior World bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe.

Lampe beat Woody in the 2007 Body Bar finals in the FILA Junior division. 2007 Junior World Team members Erin Clodgo and Paige Rife also are expected to compete in the Body Bar event.

Champions from the Body Bar FILA Junior Women's National Championships earn the right to represent the USA at the FILA Junior World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 29-Aug. 3.

Second-place finishers in FILA Juniors qualify for the 2008 FILA Junior Pan American Championships in Cuenca, Ecuador, on June 20-22.

"Having an opportunity to go on after this and compete in an international event is huge for these young girls," Izboinikov said. "Having a chance to represent your country and compete overseas is a great experience. It can really pay off for them down the road as they gain more time on the mat."

Participants in the Body Bar event took part in a training camp this week at the Olympic Training Center.

"We started the training camp three years ago and this is an unbelievable opportunity for these young girls," Izboinikov said. "We had real good numbers at our camp, and it's definitely a great chance for these young wrestlers to learn and develop."

Wrestlers taking part in the Body Bar event spent time training with and learning from top Senior-level competitors like World champion Kristie Marano, Olympic bronze medalist Patricia Miranda and World bronze medalist Katie Downing.

"That is worth the price of admission for the camp alone, having the opportunity to train alongside our World medalists," Izboinikov said. "We have special sessions where our top athletes give their insights and provide instruction for these kids. The time our World medalists and Senior-level athletes spend with the kids is priceless. I can't emphasize that enough."

This event also is important with the current Olympic cycle ending this year. That means a number of top women's wrestlers at the Senior level likely will retire after the 2008 Olympics, opening the door for younger athletes to move up the ranks.

"It's really important to build the depth from our younger ranks," Izboinikov said. "We need to make sure the next group of girls is ready to step up for the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and beyond. The development of these young wrestlers obviously is critical to our future success."