Lexington, S.C. — River Bluff High School is part of the Midlands first wave of girls flag football this fall, with about 175 athletes across area programs as South Carolina keeps the sport in a pilot phase ahead of expected SCHSL sanctioning.
Coverage of the new teams says schools held interest meetings and quickly filled rosters. River Bluff is listed among the founding Midlands programs alongside Lower Richland and Blythewood as girls who grew up playing backyard or youth flag jumped to high school squads.
Nationally, girls flag football participation jumped from 68,847 to 102,360 athletes in the latest National Federation of State High School Associations sports participation survey, ranking No. 10 among girls sports by participants.
Thirty-seven states already treat flag football as a sanctioned sport or as independent or pilot programs. North Carolina, Georgia and Florida are already sanctioned, while South Carolina is still in the pilot phase with a goal of official varsity status as soon as next year.
The NFHS is highlighting girls flag football among the drivers of record high school sports participation nationally, giving Midlands programs a national growth backdrop as local coaches push to get on board.
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