Girls flag football will debut as a sanctioned high school sport in Illinois this fall, but it will not be seen in the Western Big 6 Conference, according to athletic directors from several Quad-City high schools.
“We are not ready for the upcoming (school) year to add girls flag football,” Rock Island Athletic Director Mike Emendorfer said. “There will be no girls football for Rock Island.”
Moline Athletic Director Todd Thompson said the Maroons, along with other WB6 schools, also would not participate.
“Currently, it does not look like any local teams are going to participate, as we believe the reasoning is that we are looking to see how (the sport) grows and things like that,” Thompson said. “It is something that we will definitely be looking at in the future.”
Alleman AD Mark VanNatta and Geneseo AD Joe Nichols both responded via email, indicating that their schools would not have teams in the fall.
People are also reading…
Emendorfer said the new sport would predominantly be played in northern Illinois, particularly in the more-populated Chicago suburbs.
“We expect the sport to be played in Chicago, in the suburbs, and that there have been no local teams that have been added yet,” Emendorfer said.
Emendorfer said he felt there needed to be an evaluation done before girls flag football was implemented in the WB6.
“We are in the process of looking at opportunities and seeing what the cost (of the sport) is going to be, as well as what facilities to use and those types of things,” Emendorfer said. “We have had some young ladies who have shown interest, but as a school district, we are not in the process of looking into adding the sport right now.”
Thompson expressed a similar view.
“We will have to survey and see what the interest is with the schools,” Thompson said. “I do not want to speak for other schools, but that is how Moline would work. From there, we will have to see where that sport would fall in a timeline, adding stipends and getting coaches and things like that. I think (adding girls flag football) is looking very positive for the future. But as of right now, we are waiting to see where the sport goes.”
Both Thompson and Emendorfer feel that adding flag football to the many IHSA fall sports is a step in the right direction.
“I am excited to obviously add new opportunities for our young people,” Emendorfer said. “It’s a growing sport.”
“I think it is another great opportunity for girls to participate in another sport,” Thompson said. “Multiple schools up north are taking advantage of that opportunity. Depending on what happens with the sport in the suburbs, I think that is something that could trickle down here within the next couple of years, if the sport is a big success.”
