High school students in Colorado will have the opportunity to try out a new sport in a few days.

The CHSAA girls flag football team’s inaugural season begins Monday with the first day of practice. Schools may hold practice games or official competitions on Friday.

In the first year, 64 schools from grades 5A to 4A will field teams.

The CHSAA Legislative Council voted overwhelmingly 57-9 in April to officially approve flag football for girls.

“Any time you can increase opportunities for girls to play sports, it’s a great thing,” said Justin Saylor, CHSAA deputy commissioner. “The potential for growth is tremendous and we’re just excited to be able to provide that opportunity.”

How does the game work?

Many of the rules of flag football are similar to those of tackle football, but there are many variations.

First, in flag football, players are “tackled” by pulling the opponents’ flags. Girls wear one-piece quick-release belts with three flags (one on each side, one in the middle of the back) strapped around their waists.

The playing field will be 80 yards long and 40 yards wide, as opposed to the usual dimensions of 100 yards by 53.3 yards in tackle football.

Just like CHSAA tackle football games, quarters are 12 minutes long. Halftime is 10 minutes.

Developing the game further

With the introduction of flag football for girls in Colorado, 11 states now sanction the sport at the high school level.

The National Sporting Goods Association reported that 1.6 million girls nationwide participated in the sport in 2023, a 55% increase from one million in 2022.

CHSAA said it hopes to double the number of participating schools (64) by 2030.

The organization has lined up five conferences for the inaugural cycle, which runs from 2024 to 2026. However, Saylor said the CHSAA will accommodate sports programs that decide to start programs before the end of the cycle.

“We’re growing, so we know it’s going to be one of those sports where the turnaround is quick,” Saylor said. “We’re not going to rule out anyone’s opportunity to get in at any point.”

“It’s new and exciting, and schools are still trying to figure out how to implement it. Once they do, we’ll find a way to make it work.”

Which Colorado teams will play?

Of the 64 programs fielding teams in the 2024 season, eight are from the greater Pikes Peak region: Air Academy, Colorado Springs Christian, Coronado, Doherty, Ellicott, The Classical Academy, Vanguard and Vista Ridge.

Doherty will play in 5A, while the other seven will compete in 4A. All eight (and Elizabeth) will play in the Southern Colorado Mixed Class League.

Air Academy is the only school from Academy District 20 to field a team this season, so athletes from that district will compete for the Kadets. The district had not planned to field teams for the inaugural season before Air Academy announced its plan Monday.

“Recently, the CHSAA recognized Girl’s Flag Football as a high school sport and we have received a lot of interest in this potential program for D20,” the district said in a statement. “Given this interest, AAHS will launch this as a program and immediately begin the search for a coach to lead this program.”

In both classes, 20 teams will compete in the playoffs. In 5A, four automatic starting places (for league champions) and 16 free starting places will be awarded, while in 4A, five automatic starting places and 15 free starting places will be awarded.

Where and when will the games be played?

Game dates, times and locations vary by school during the first year.

Saylor said many programs will use stadiums they also use for tackle football. Others plan to use additional fields adjacent to their schools and stadiums.

“I think schools will look at it in a lot of different ways,” Saylor said. “We’re just excited to see how it grows and what happens.”

The regular season consists of a combination of singles matches throughout the school week and a handful of multi-team invitational tournaments. For example, Vanguard School will host a Southern Colorado League kickoff event on August 31, with all nine teams in the league competing in group matches.

Others hope to use the annual excitement surrounding tackle football season to build momentum in girls flag football. Vista Ridge plans to hold one of its first games of the flag football season on a Friday before one of the Wolves’ tackle games.

“The addition of girls flag football to our VRHS athletic department promotes inclusivity by creating new opportunities for female athletes and enriches the school culture by promoting diversity and teamwork,” said Eddy McGee, Vista Ridge athletic director. “It continues to strengthen our school and community spirit, promotes a more inclusive representation of the sport, and reinforces our school identity.”

Teams will be allowed to play 15 games in the 2024-25 season. The dates for the end of the regular season and the start of the postseason have yet to be determined.

Impact on sports departments

The sports directors of the regions largely see the introduction of this sport as an enrichment for their sports departments.

At TCA, more than 40 students participated in the school’s voluntary exercises.

“Flag football gives young ladies another opportunity to play sports and gives our coaches and the community an opportunity to have a positive impact on these kids,” said TCA Athletic Director Darron Mitchell.

Vista Ridge plans to field both varsity and junior varsity teams after about 75 students expressed interest in the Wolves in the spring.

“We hope to expand this at some point as other schools in the Pikes Peak region join flag football leagues,” McGee said.

Flag football will be the seventh CHSAA-sponsored sport offered to female students.

While there are some concerns that the addition of the sport could lead to a brain drain from sports such as volleyball, softball and cross country, both McGee and Mitchell are confident it will not hurt their departments.

“I think that’s always a possibility, but from our early numbers, we’re seeing a lot of freshmen coming in or student-athletes coming out who are playing a different sport (like basketball or football) in a different season,” McGee said. “So I think we’ll be appealing to a new group of stakeholders and keeping some of our other student-athletes from other seasons more connected to the school.”

Mitchell said, “It’s new and exciting and the kids want to try it, so there will be some critics from other fall sports. However, I believe our numbers in volleyball, softball and cross country are solid.”