High school girls across Georgia will have the chance to participate in a newly-sanctioned sport next year.
Flag football is now a sport that high schools can choose to offer to its girl students, the Georgia High School Association announced Wednesday, making Georgia the fourth state in the country to officially sanction the sport.
Flag football for students started last year in Gwinnett County at its 19 high schools. Each school fielded a team and it was an all-expenses paid venture as the Atlanta Falcons paid for the equipment and other costs associated with it.
Falcons CEO Rich McKay said they saw a need for more girls’ sports and that’s what led to the team sponsoring the league in Gwinnett.
“The goal was always to get this program to become an officially sanctioned sport,” McKay said in a press release. “And to give girls more opportunities to play sports in high schools and we are thrilled that the GHSA shared the same vision. It’s an exciting time for high school sports in Georgia.”
Five other counties also participated in flag football last year: Cherokee, Forsyth, Henry, Muscogee and Rockdale.
Also, for the second year in a row, Mercedes-Benz stadium hosted the girls’ high school flag football championship.
Last year, GPB reported on one of the early practices of the year at Duluth High School. We heard from coaches and players who talked about how the chance to play in a game usually reserved for boys, was a step toward equality.
See full article here… https://www.gpbnews.org/post/girls-flag-football-becomes-official-sanctioned-sport-georgia
