Many people tell Chicago Public Schools senior manager of girls flag football Juliana Zavala that they wish the sport had existed when they were in high school. Now the girls after them don’t have to wish.
It was announced Wednesday at Halas Hall that girls flag football will become an official Illinois High School Association sport starting in the 2024-25 school year.
The sport began play in Illinois in 2021. Interest quickly spread throughout the state, and the sport had 50 teams participating in 2022. More than 100 teams took part in the 2023 season, which exceeded the threshold to become an official IHSA sport.
The Bears hosted the 2023 state championship game for girls flag football, which Lane won. The game was held in the Walter Payton Center at Halas Hall in Lake Forest.
‘‘The Chicago Bears remain committed to aggressively championing the growth of girls flag football,’’ Bears CEO Kevin Warren said at a news conference Wednesday. ‘‘This is the beginning, but access and equity begin with these historical first moments that make the Chicago Bears, and me personally, inspired for the future of girls flag football for generations to come.’’
Zavala grew up in Mexico and watched the Cowboys play on television. She took an interest in the sport and played football with the boys, but there weren’t avenues for her to continue to play.
‘‘One of the things that I wish I had when I was growing up is the opportunity to play flag football,’’ Zavala told the Sun-Times.
Solorio’s Karla Martinez was the first CPS student to earn a scholarship for girls flag football, doing so in 2023. Zavala said that number has grown to three, and the opportunities are endless with flag football becoming an IHSA-sanctioned sport.
IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said more than 100 programs have committed to playing girls flag football next fall.
‘‘We had our state playoffs here at Halas Hall,’’ Zavala said, ‘‘and to be able to have the Bears open their doors for us, it’s just an epic moment for us to know that we’re part of this program and it’s inclusive.’’
But the true impact lies with the girls participating. Several players from Simeon, Lane and Solorio were represented at the news conference and said it felt like a landmark step for the IHSA to sanction the sport.
‘‘It’s sort of been a thing that we did, but now it feels so much more important and significant,’’ Lane junior Alaina Valmassei told the Sun-Times. ‘‘To be able to play and be a part of this feels like we’re really doing something.’’
Valmassei said she and her teammates bonded over having no experience before joining the team. Together, they went through the trials and tribulations together. From 6 a.m. practices to state champions, they forged stronger relationships.
The partnership with the Bears was crucial in CPS and the IHSA being able to turn flag football into an official varsity sport.
‘‘Just seeing the girls and how they grow and build their confidence level, self-esteem and the opportunity to take risks, it’s changing lives,’’ Zavala said.
The inaugural IHSA state championship will take place Oct. 11-12. The site is still to be determined.
