NAMPA, Idaho β Flag football is making the leap from backyard games to Olympic dreams, and young girls in Nampa are at the forefront of this transformation with support from the Seattle Seahawks.
At Skyview High School, the Idaho Girls Flag Football Association and the Seattle Seahawks are partnering with the Nampa School District to expand opportunities for girls to participate in the sport.
WATCH: President of Idaho Girls Flag Football discuss the sport's growth
"Just to get enough girls to participate at the end of the day. We know a lot of the sports are popular with basketball and volleyball. So the challenge of getting new girls to come in and play a new sport. But over 50% of the girls that are playing are new to any sport in general," Tanner Brock said.
Free registration for the October 25 tournament can be found here.
Brock, president of the Idaho Girls Flag Football Association, says school districts are showing interest, but funding and staffing challenges are slowing efforts to make girls flag football a sanctioned high school sport in Idaho.
"The Seahawks have reached out, and they've even kind of been denied a little bit. They've been like, yeah, it's a tough β Idaho has been tough for us. So that's what made me have that real big challenge of saying, hey, we'll make it happen, whatever we've got to do," Brock said.
A Skyview administrator says new sanctioned sports take years to implement, with e-sports expected to be the next addition statewide. Girls flag football would likely follow in future discussions. The Seahawks report that more than a dozen states already have sanctioned girls flag football programs.
The sport's growth comes as flag football prepares for its Olympic debut, creating new pathways for female athletes.
"We believe that the next step - it is early in the stages - so they are totally looking for athletes at the top levels for not only college, but in the Olympics too," Brock said.
Isabella Serratos, a senior at Columbia High School, believes the Olympic opportunity will inspire more girls to participate.
"I do believe that because it will help, like, motivate them, you know? Like, okay, like, these girls are doing it. Like, why not? Like, don't mess up on those opportunities," Serratos said.
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