After a successful inaugural year of girls’ flag football in Frederick County, the program is expanding to high schools across Maryland in 2024 with the help of two sponsors.
After operating in 10 high schools in Frederick County last year, the program is expanding to Baltimore, Montgomery and Washington counties.
Sportswear company Under Armour and the Baltimore Ravens are providing custom uniforms, plus funding for coaching stipends, transportation, awards and other expenses to make it happen.
Under Armour Director Trey Evans said the company hopes the partnership helps female student-athletes to build confidence.
“Sports play a crucial role in helping young women develop into future leaders, emboldening them to approach life’s challenges head-on,” Evans said in a news release.
A total of 280 girls in Frederick County participated in the sport’s eight-week season in 2023, which ended with a nail-biter where Middletown defeated Urbana in triple overtime to win the championship. Many Ravens players also attended the championship event.
Ravens Senior Vice President of Marketing Brad Downs outlined how successful the initiative was last year, and that the team’s ultimate goal is to make girl’s flag football a state-sanctioned sport.
“The participating schools are pioneering meaningful programs that shape a more inclusive version of our sport and have helped enrich the lives of many female student-athletes,” Downs said. “The interest in and advancement of girls’ flag football brings us tremendous pride, and we feel a great deal of responsibility to continue growing this program throughout the state of Maryland.”
In 2024, 51 more schools across Maryland will participate in girls flag football, including all 25 public high schools in Montgomery County.
Director of Systemwide Athletics in Montgomery County, Jeff Sullivan, highlighted in a release how this will help the county to provide more opportunities for student-athletes.
“We are excited to be a part of the expansion of girls’ flag football as we strive to provide additional participation opportunities for our student-athletes in Montgomery County Public Schools,” Sullivan said. “This initiative is directly aligned with our R.A.I.S.E. core values of equity, access and spirited competition and will provide a springboard of success for girls’ flag across our county.”
Women’s flag football is growing in popularity across the country and will even be part of the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
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