ROBBINSVILLE – The NJSIAA is throwing in with flag football.
After three successful seasons as a club sport, girls flag football will be a pilot sport under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association for at least the next two spring seasons.
NJSIAA Execitive Director Colleen Maguire explained the parameters at the Executive Committee meeting Wednesday, saying the biggest issue is that the National Federation of High Schools is codifying rules for all states to utilize (currently, Maguire said seven states sanction girls flag football), while the sport in New Jersey is run by the different football leagues such as the Super Football Conference and West Jersey Football League.
“We need everyone playing under the same rules and when you go around [here] they’re all playing under slightly different rules,” Maguire said. “They’re in essence the same, but there are nuances. Until the NFHS creates the rules, we’re not making any changes to how they’re operating now.”
Maguire confirmed that the sport would remain in the spring, and at least for the foreseeable future would be considered a “non-strenuous” sport, meaning girls have the ability to play both flag football in the spring and also compete in another spring sport like softball, track or lacrosse.
What happens when flag football becomes NJSIAA-sanctioned sport?
If – and when – the sport officially becomes sanctioned by the NJSIAA, it would fall under the strenuous banner, meaning girls could not play it along with another sport. Other non-strenuous sports under the NJSIAA sanctions are bowling and golf.
“Schools have the autonomy to run it the way they want,” Maguire said. “I think most allow the flexibility, but there are some that just make the girls only play flag.”
Maguire said there were 83 schools with a flag football program last spring, and all indications are that number is going to grow.
The league in North Jersey has been sponsored by the New York Jets, who helped provide uniforms and underwrite some of the costs. Ridgewood is the defending North Jersey champion after defeating Hillside at the Jets facility in Florham Park.
Girls wrestling: Atlantic City update
The most recent sport officially sanctioned by the NJSIAA is girls wrestling, and Maguire said that for the first time, the full bracket of the state finals for girls wrestling would take place in Atlantic City in 2024.
This will mean a change to the full schedule for the three-day event at Boardwalk Hall, with the first session starting Thursday, Feb. 29 at 10 a.m. The hope is for the girls state finals to start around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday with the boys to follow.
“It’s just continuous now,” said Maguire.
Proponents of girls wrestling had bristled at the format where an early portion of the girls individual state tournament was held elsewhere. The girls state finals were held at Phillipsburg High School in 2021.
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
