Girls flag football has been approved as a high school sport in these states.
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Girls flag football has been approved as a high school sport in these states.

Posted on by Matthew Reynolds

Thanks to the NFL, girls’ flag football is quickly gaining popularity nationwide. In North Carolina, the sport is gaining traction in multiple school districts, while some states have already officially recognized it and are hosting legitimate state championships.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, there were 913 schools that had girls flag football teams, with a total of 20,875 participants, based on statistics from the National Federation of State High School Associations. This number is expected to increase in the upcoming 2023-2024 school year.

Currently, eight states have officially approved the sport, with two more expected to do so this spring. Additionally, 22 other states are currently conducting pilot programs for girls’ flag football.

This indicates that 32 out of 51 state associations are involved in girls’ flag football in some way.

States that have officially approved girls’ flag football.

So far, eight state associations have officially recognized girls flag football as a sport and are hosting state championship events.

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Nevada
  • New York

In the spring of 2024, Colorado and Illinois are anticipated to approve the inclusion of girls flag football.

The majority of states participate in girls’ flag football during the autumn season, in conjunction with the traditional football season. This includes Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, and Georgia.

In the spring, Florida and New York participate in girls flag football, while Nevada’s season takes place in the winter.

States conducting pilot programs in girls flag football

North Carolina has joined a pilot program with 21 other states to introduce girls flag football. In the future, these states may decide to officially approve the sport.

  • Colorado

  • The state of Connecticut has established an advisory committee to research the possibility of officially approving the sport by the fall of 2023.

  • Delaware
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • New Jersey
  • North Carolina
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Washington

Girls flag football has caught the attention of Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon, Vermont, and Virginia according to the NFHS.

Source: highschoolot.com