CHARLOTTE - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Athletics and the Carolina Panthers will celebrate the opening of the second season of the CMS High School Girls Flag Football League Saturday March 11, 2023.
Twenty-four high school teams will participate in a pre-season jamboree event at Olympic High School. Regular season competition will begin Saturday, March 18. The league championship tournament will be played Saturday, May 13 at Bank of America Stadium. In 2022, the Chambers Cougars claimed the inaugural league crown.
"The Carolina Panthers are thrilled to again partner with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Athletics for the second season of the CMS Girls High School Flag Football League which will provide increased participation opportunities and access to the sport of football for high school girls," said Panthers Director of Community Relations Riley Fields. "We are hopeful this effort will also be a catalyst for sanctioning Girls High School Flag Football as a varsity sport in the future."
Carolina Panthers Charities is providing $60,000 in program funding plus custom Nike team uniforms and other school resources to support the success of the program. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is the first school district to offer a district wide Girls Flag Football League in North Carolina. The intramural/club-level program is designed to provide high school girls with increased access and opportunities to participate in the fast-growing sport of girls' high school flag football, which will be sanctioned as a varsity sport in eight states nationally beginning Fall 2023.
"For Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Girls Flag Football has not only created a fun and energetic environment, but it has also created an additional pathway to college," said CMS Director of Athletics Ericia Turner. "The inaugural season in 2022 proved to be very impactful in surprising ways, including the fact we had one player receive a scholarship offer to play at the collegiate level. As we prepare to kickoff Year 2 this Saturday morning at Olympic High School, I am excited and expecting this year to be even greater. The sport is growing so fast as many states are petitioning to make Flag Football a sanctioned sport. We are doing our small part to make that a reality in North Carolina."
