TSSAA has officially welcomed girls flag football into their officially recognized sports.
A national champion will be crowned in flag football every year beginning next season. Five teams in the Upper Cumberland squared off in Division 5, with Stone Memorial coming out on top. Van Buren Flag Football Head Coach Shane Hall said he hopes to see continued building for all flag football programs in Tennessee.
“We’re really excited, the community is excited, support staff here at the schools is excited,” Hall said. “It’s going to be a fast and furious season but we’re looking forward to get it underway.”
Schools were placed into 16 divisions last season geographically. A tournament invitational was held at the end of May. Stone Memorial would play Brentwood in the unofficial national championship. Hall said flag football is the only traditional football team Van Buren possesses.
“There’s not a lot of knowledge about football,” Hall said. “There’s not a lot of expectations of what football even is, so being able to bring that up here is exciting. Everybody that I’ve talked to is excited about bringing this up here.”
Multiple teams from the Upper Cumberland played club flag football last season. Hall said those clubs helped spark TSSAA’s interest in the addition.
“I am hopeful that some of the other teams in the Upper Cumberland that don’t have this will see it and continue to spread,” Hall said.
TSSAA had classified flag football as an emerging sport before last year, which meant an official state championship could not be completed. Tennessee becomes the 16th state to officially recognize flag football as an official sport. An official start date for the state championship has not yet been announced.