Girls Flag Football Finds Its Footing at Peninsula

Brent Campbell told his players before their Jan. 9 doubleheader against Mount Tahoma that they were about to make history.

Girls flag football, one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, was set to make its debut for the Peninsula Seahawks, marking a significant step forward for female athletes in the area.

For Campbell, named head coach before the season along with Assistant Coach Jenny Buys, the game was the culmination of weeks spent teaching fundamentals to a group of athletes who had never played football before.

“They get it now and played with confidence,” said Campbell, who brings more than 20 years of experience coaching boys football at various levels. He is also Peninsula’s safety and security officer. “The actual game speed was quite shocking to them, but they adjusted quickly.”

The Seahawks rose to the occasion, earning their place in the history books with a decisive 35-14 victory in their first-ever game.

The girls flag football season is a pilot program, of sorts, this year. It’s not a club sport like water polo or lacrosse, which operate independently from the school’s athletic programs. It’s not a sanctioned sport by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, either.

This decision came after the WIAA announced last May that a proposal to make girls flag football a sanctioned sport was voted down by a representative assembly of administrators from 35 high schools and 18 middle schools across the state. Chief among their concerns were logistical issues, like what season to play. Winters are too cold, especially for teams in the eastern part of the state, and adding the sport to fall or spring might cannibalize more established sports like soccer and volleyball.

Campbell said flag football gives girls a unique opportunity to play a quintessential boys sport without adding many costs to the school. Unlike tackle football with expensive equipment, flag football is a no-contact sport where players stop opponents by pulling flags attached to their waists. This emphasis on safety makes the sport appealing to athletes who might otherwise shy away from football.

The game is played seven-on-seven on a 30-by-54-yard field, with an emphasis on speed, agility and precision over physicality. Scoring is similar to tackle football, with touchdowns worth six points and options for extra points from either the 2-yard or 5-yard line. Campbell noted that coaching flag football involves recognizing unique talents.

“Speed is pretty easy to spot,” Campbell said. “But what’s tougher is seeing who will understand the flow of the game.”

With a shortened pilot season — all games played in January — the team had little time to find its rhythm. “By the time I learn all of our strengths and weaknesses, our season (was) over,” Campbell said.

Coaches across the state will now spend the next few months advocating for girls flag football before the representative assembly votes again in April. If approved, the sport would gain varsity status, opening the door for state championships and additional resources. If not, Peninsula High School could continue to play as a non-sanctioned sport. Slow-pitch softball was the last sport added to the WIAA’s offerings in 2018.

“If they saw the joy in these girls’ faces, I don’t see how flag football won’t explode in popularity, especially around here,” Campbell said about the sport that was added to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. “These girls probably won’t remember the scores to the games, but they’ll remember all the things we did together to prepare. Once others start seeing how rewarding that is, this sport will continue growing.”