MECHANICSBURG — The Pennsylvania State High School Athletic Association has declared high school girls flag football a state-sanctioned sport. On Wednesday in Mechanicsburg, the PIAA Board of Directors met to deliberate girls flag football, approving its designation as a state-sanctioned sport after its third and final deliberation.
A sport is eligible for sanctioning if it adopts a set of operational and safety standards established by a governing body. When these standards and best practices are fully implemented within the overall framework of the program, the event creates a more positive and structured experience for participants. In the case of girls’ flag football in Pennsylvania, this required at least 100 participating teams across the state.
This benchmark was achieved in April by 65 schools in the eastern part of the state and 36 in the western part.
“We are delighted to once again be able to offer girls the opportunity to take part in inter-school athletics.” PIAA President Frank Magikes said: “This is the second girls sport to be approved in a two-year period. With approval from the National Federation of National High School Associations (NFHS), we will begin development of a rulebook for girls flag football in January 2025, which will allow us to develop a process for hosting championships. Structural changes to the sport will not begin until the 2025-26 school year. The PIAA thanks the National Football League, the Eagles and the Steelers for their support and efforts in girls flag football.”
As part of a collaborative effort to sanction girls’ flag football, the Eagles and Steelers have worked together on flag football for the past three seasons to promote the sport at the girls’ youth level through education, engagement and distribution of equipment and resources.
In July 2023, the PIAA, through the efforts of both NFL teams, designated women’s flag football an emerging sport in Pennsylvania. This designation marked the next step in the process for women’s flag football to be sanctioned and ultimately become an official sport in the state of Pennsylvania.
“This is a big day not only for the Eagles and Steelers, but for the sport of football and the state of Pennsylvania.” “We are thrilled to be joining the Philadelphia Eagles,” said Philadelphia Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie. “When we launched our Girls Flag Football League in 2022, we set an ambitious five-year goal to have the sport sanctioned in the state, and now, three seasons later, we are here two years ahead of schedule. The organic growth of our sport is a credit to the participants, administrators, coaches, officials and parents who have helped raise the profile of girls flag football. We thank the PIAA for their leadership in recognizing a sport that has the power to open up new paths and opportunities for girls of all ages and in every community.”
“We are excited to witness this groundbreaking moment for the future of women’s flag football.” Steelers president Art Rooney II said: “It’s great that we were able to work with the Eagles to win a ruling that will give young girls the opportunity to compete at the state level, and I’m excited to see how girls’ flag football continues to grow in Pennsylvania and around the world.”
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