EVERETT, JULY 28: The first season of varsity girls flag football in the Western League will begin in November, months after being sanctioned by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA)
Everett, Cascade and Jackson high schools will each offer the program alongside Monroe.
Washington joins 14 other states in formally recognizing the sport at the high school level. Flag football is one of the fastest-growing youth sports in the country. In 2024 alone, nearly 500,000 girls aged 6 to 17 participated nationwide, a 63% increase since 2019.
Several schools and districts petitioned to add the sport, including Redmond, Everett, Gig Harbor and Lake Washington high schools and the Peninsula and Tacoma school districts.
The last new sport to be sanctioned was girls’ bowling in 1999, according to the WIAA.
Currently, three schools in Wesco are committed, but some are still trying to find funding, Dani Mundell, Everett Public Schools (EPS) Athletic director, said.
To fill the schedule, the teams will play against leagues outside of Wesco, such as the Northwest Conference, like Bellingham and Ferndale, Mundell said.
At the moment, there is a lot that is unknown, Mundell said. Participating schools are working to adapt the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rule book and how it will look for flag football in Washington State.
One of the changes they are proposing is a two-field format, splitting a standard football field. This would allow for two games to be played at once.
Mundell is certain that the program will have a good turnout.
“It is a non-cut sport and that usually gives students confidence to turn out for something they haven’t potentially previously done,” Mundell said. “The sport has gotten notoriety as well, being included in the 2028 Olympics.”
The program will be funded by EPS at a total of $60 thousand, Mundell said.
The growth can also be seen in local programs that offer the sport, such as the YMCA of Snohomish County.
“We’ve been laying the foundation—training, mentoring, and championing girls through our own girls-only flag football league,” Chris Bellecourt, Youth Sports Director, YMCA of Snohomish County, said in a statement in April. “Now, we’re ready to grow.”
The YMCA is offering a free girls’ flag football clinic on Friday, Aug. 8, at Marysville Pilchuck High School for grades 1-12.
