ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO OFFER MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL IN 2019
ATLANTA – Atlanta Public Schools (APS) will offer flag football as a scholastic sport to seventh- and eighth-grade girls beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, it was announced today. To help establish its new program for football-playing girls, the school district will receive budgetary assistance from USA Football, ESPN and the Atlanta Falcons.
This offering makes Atlanta Public Schools one of the largest U.S. school districts to offer flag football as a scholastic sport to middle school girls. All 13 of the school district’s middle schools will participate in girls flag football next fall.
“Atlanta Public Schools is excited to partner with USA Football, ESPN and the Atlanta Falcons to be one of the first school districts in the country to provide another outstanding athletic opportunity through flag football for our middle school girls,” said APS Superintendent DR. MERIA CARSTARPHEN. “I can’t wait to have my first workout with one of our teams!”
“This is an exciting and important step forward for our girls who now can enjoy the fun, friendships and fitness gained through football while representing their school’s community,” said Atlanta Public Schools Athletics Director JASPER JEWELL. “Hundreds of girls will get to experience this next fall through the support of USA Football, ESPN and the Falcons.”
“Atlanta Public Schools’ forward thinking will foster increased participation opportunities and positive experiences for a new group of student-athletes, setting a great example for school districts nationwide,” said USA Football CEO SCOTT HALLENBECK.
“ESPN is committed to ensuring girls have equal opportunity in sports,” said ESPN Vice President of Corporate Citizenship KEVIN MARTINEZ. “We’re excited to assist Atlanta Public Schools in helping girls to play the game of football — not just cheer from the sidelines. We hope that the enthusiasm that these middle school girls and their parents have for football today, helps blossom into a girls high school varsity sport in the future.”
“The Falcons have long appreciated the fan support of girls across our region — now it’s our turn to root for them,” said Vice President, Community Relations, AMBSE CHRIS MILLMAN. “We’re happy to support Atlanta Public Schools as the district builds its middle school girls flag program. This continues an exciting trend of girls flag across the greater Atlanta area and we’re proud to ensure these programs have the budget assistance they need for the good of their student-athletes.”
According to the Sport and Fitness Industry Association’s 2018 single sport participation report, there are roughly 171,000 core girl flag football participants ages 6 to 17. The SFIA defines a flag football core participant as those who participate in the sport more than 13 times per year. Overall, girls core flag football participation increased by more than 22 percent from 2016 to 2017.
About USA Football: USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive programs to advance and grow the sport. As the sport’s national governing body, member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and organizer of the U.S. National Team for international competition, USA Football partners with leaders in medicine, child advocacy and athletics to support positive football experiences for youth, high school and other amateur players.
About ESPN Corporate Citizenship: ESPN believes that, at its very best, sports uplift the human spirit. Its corporate citizenship programs use power of sport to positively address society’s needs through strategic community investments, cause marketing programs, collaboration with sports organizations and employee volunteerism, while also utilizing its diverse media assets. For more information, go to www.espn.com/citizenship.
About Atlanta Public Schools: Atlanta Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in the state of Georgia, serving approximately 52,000 students across 89 schools. The district is organized into nine K-12 clusters with 61 neighborhood schools, five partner schools, 18 charter schools, two citywide single-gender academies, three alternative schools and four alternative programs.