Written by: Liam Schulte and Jacob Patterson

High school sports have been around for the longest time, with many additions and subtractions being made to the plethora of options for athletes. This year, a brand-new sport will be added to the ThunderRidge family: Girls Flag Football.

A spin-off of America’s beloved game, flag football is similar to regular football, but instead of tackling the player, defenders will pull the flag off of the player's waist to down a player. Along with that, the players are taken down from 11 per team to seven, leading to more action and fun.

The 22-23 season was the inaugural season for girls flag football, with over 500 girls signing up to play last year. At Chatfield High School, 83 girls signed up for the sport on the first day, per, The Denver Post. Many have positive comments on the newest sport at ThunderRidge. Dieuvenson Sorenson (9), an athlete himself, gave his opinion on it. “I think it would be good for them to play flag football because it’s important to get exercise and be out in the sun. It’ll be fun to watch.”

Eric Hoerler (9), also believes it will be good to have girls play football. “I think it’s very good to have both women and men play football,” said Eric.

Even though participation in the sport is currently limited for girls, new opportunities are opening up rapidly. After high school, many opportunities and spots in the sport are arising. As of 2021, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has 15 programs for girls flag football, with more on the way. Even national football programs, such as the NFL, are pushing for the sport to be represented on the highest level, such as the Olympics.

Overall, the new addition pushes for more opportunity within women’s sports. It will be fun to see how the sport grows within the ThunderRidge community.