Champaign Central High School created their first flag football team for the 2025 season, making school history by giving female athletes a way to claim the field as their own.
Flag football is a sport where 5 players from each team wear multiple brightly colored flags on an adjustable belt with hooks. It differs from American football with the rule of no physical contact. Tackling is replaced by flags which provides a safer alternative. A player is considered “tackled” when one or both of their flags are pulled. Normally, the game consists of 2 halves each 12 minutes, the clock only stopping for halftime, injury, or timeouts. The main goal is to move the ball up the field and into the endzone, resulting in a touchdown.
On September 3rd, Central competed against Urbana High School for their first game of the season. The team came away victorious on their home field, winning handedly 30-6.
When asked about how the experience has been so far, Rylee Beck, a freshman athlete on the team shared a very positive outlook, “So far it’s been awesome. Interest across the school and community has been high. There were over 70 girls that tried out”.
The flag football experience so far shows strong involvement from both students and the community around us. There is much excitement and support, making it clear that bringing flag football to be a part of Central was the right thing to do.
“For us it is particularly special”, said Ashley Swanson, a parent of player Kadence Swanson, ecstatic about this change. “Our children are 3rd generation to attend Central and their grandmother wasn’t allowed to play sports during her time because the laws hadn’t been implemented to allow equal opportunity for female athletes”.
For many families, joining a school sport is about more than just competition, it’s about growth, opportunities, and meeting new people who could potentially be someone you rely on. At Central High School, the excitement around the new flag football season has shown how far our school has come regarding women athletes.
Central’s decision to offer flag football this year marks a significant milestone in the school’s athletic history. Flag football is growing worldwide and Champaign Central High School is one of many schools participating and making history for these young female athletes.
tailynn • Sep 30, 2025 at 9:11 am
I love that this is focused on young women, and them making history at Central