Locals are still working hard to see girls flag football reach the high school level and become a varsity sport. The Johnston-based girls flag football program Diamonds on the Gridiron has been offering Rhode Island athletes the opportunity to play and learn the sport and just announced that it will be running a spring league starting next May.
This league will have a three-week regular season then will finish with a playoff run. All teams will be qualifying for the postseason in what will be the state’s first-ever high school girls flag football league. The goal is to showcase the sport in order to have the Rhode Island Interscholastic League sanction it as a varsity sport in 2026.
There are currently 11 states in the country that offer girls flag football as a varsity high school sport and colleges have been introducing it as well. The ultimate goal is to see girls have the opportunity to earn scholarships and pursue this new sport long term. Flag football is also slated to become an Olympic sport in 2028.
“We want to give people the opportunity to try it out. Let them see it, let them experience it, then turn around next year and hopefully sanction it as a sport. We’re extremely close. Schools are buying into the idea of having girls flag football as a varsity sport. We’re very close,” said Diamonds on the Gridiron head Randy Phillips.
Phillips believes that there are extraordinary benefits in introducing this new sport to the varsity level.
“The biggest thing is that it is a brand new sport, so there is no prototype on what kind of player that you need to be. Rhode Island is a small state but it’s an untapped source. This will now open the avenue for girls to say, ‘I don’t want to play soccer, or basketball, but this is something I want to work towards.’ It’s something they can pursue long term,” Phillips said.
Johnston High School held its first-ever powder puff football game recently and Diamonds on the Gridiron will be hosting a winter program as well. Phillips, along with Johnston High School athletic director Justin Erickson, hope that more Rhode Islanders take notice, which will be critical in pushing things across the finish line.
“Just community support. There are a lot of towns that have girls flag football, but if we can push it to the high school level, that’s what we want,” Phillips said. “If a community supports something, it’s going to happen. Making people aware that girls want to play this sport at the high school level.”