Football has always been the most popular sport in the United States with around 400 million fans. The sport has developed different variations in recent years, and flag football is one of them. It is played between two teams consisting of five to eight players in a playing area about 20 to 30 yards broad and 60 to 80 yards long. But unlike football, in which the outcome can be significantly affected by tackling, the defensive team is required to take a flag or flag belt off the ball carrier to stop a down in flag football. 

For the purpose of tackling gender inequalities in sports and encouraging girls participation, the Southern Section of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has agreed to make girls flag football an approved high school sport in the beginning of the week of Sept. 26 this year. During the CIF meeting in Long Beach, this proposal was passed by a vote of 61 in favor, 26 against, and 2 abstentions. The implementation of flag football being an official high school sport can be as early as in the 2023-2024 school year.

Girls Flag Football is a recognized sport at 15 institutions affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. However, only a few schools in The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) provide flag football for girls, while the Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD) offers the opportunities to play noncompetitively. It is really the version of the sport with the most rapid growth worldwide.

While this implementation covers all of the Southern California section, the implementation of girls flag football can possibly be one of the sports at Arcadia High School.

“We are so excited when all students have new opportunities, which includes when CIF adds additional sports like Girls Flag Football,” AHS Athletic Director coach Milica Protic expressed.“ But one of the most important considerations is depending on the interests [on Girls Flag Football] that can be seen in AHS. As all AHS programs are driven by student demand and on-going involvement, we are eager to find out if our students are interested in pursuing this possibility as we all learn more about what this sport can offer.”

Lack of availability is always the factor that limits representation of girls football in the United States. There are only 1% of female young flag football players in Pop Warner, the largest youth football organization in the nation. Many girls choose not to play football since there are no female teams available in their community, and the teams they do see only have boys or men on them.

This approval ends the long waits by many flag football players, that many schools have started the preparation for next year. It also marks the improved participation and reduced inequalities among female athletes.

Junior Eric Qiu, who’s currently on the Varsity Football team, considers this idea to be intriguing, stating, “Girls’ Flag Football will be cool to our school. It’s a new thing, and probably never happened in high school sports.” Additionally, he believes that it will give more students a chance “who have played in middle school to play again” in high school.

According to Qiu, this implementation is being honored by the whole Football department. Many coaches as well as athletes have shared their own views toward this.

Varsity head coach Antyone Sims suggests the impact will be “positive for student athletes that are not on specific teams to try something different.” 

Victoria Kenworthy, female player in the Varsity Football team, perceives this as an influential factor that “encourages girls at Arcadia to think about branching out in trying a new sport”.

CIF will review this implementation at the state level in Feb. 2023. The objective is to make the sport an official CIF-sanctioned sport throughout the whole state of California, while also assisting girls in acquiring a college scholarship and learning some of the key principles taught in football. Hopefully this  will be the case, as upcoming generations explore more sports such as flag football as more and more options are available! 

Photo Courtesy of WIKIMEDIA COMMONS