HONOLULU — The Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA), in collaboration with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, announced Tuesday a series of free girls flag football camps in preparation for the inaugural HHSAA Girls Flag Football season.
“These camps are a fantastic opportunity for high school girls interested in learning more about the sport, and developing their skills,” the HHSAA said in the announcement.
The camps are open to all high school girls enrolled in the 2024-25 school year who are interested in playing flag football. There is no cost to participate in the camps. Registration can be done online at the website www.seahawks.com/community/future-of-football/flag-football/hawaii-flag-camp/.
On Kauai, the recent schedule release for girl’s flag football indicate that four members of the KIF, including Waimea High School, Kauai High School, Island School and Kapaa High School, will field teams for the sport.
The first camp will be held on Feb. 22 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the James B. Castle High School, located at 45-386 Kaneohe Bay Drive in Kaneohe, Oahu.
The second camp will be held on Feb. 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Pearl City High School, located at 2100 Hookiekie Street in Pearl City, Oahu.
“Our goal is to grow a love for the game of flag football and provide as many girls as possible the opportunity to play,” said Mario Bailey, Seahawks vice president of Community Engagement and Legends. “We are excited to support the Hawaii High School Athletic Association to provide these camps at no cost so there is no barrier to participate. This is a great opportunity for girls to practice their skills or learn the fundamentals in a fun and safe way ahead of Hawaii’s inaugural high school girls flag football season.”
Earlier this school year, the HHSAA and the Hawaii State Department of Education announced a groundbreaking initiative to introduce high school girls’ flag football to the state.
With support from the National Football League, the Seattle Seahawks and others, the football camps are a key component to the initiative, alongside grant funding to equip teams across the state. Hawaii becomes the 12th state in the country to sanction girls’ flag football as a high school sport.
“These young women are making history and trailblazing a path for future generations of female high school athletes,” said Hawaii State DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi.
The inaugural girls flag football is set to start the week of Feb. 24, culminating in a state tournament on April 26 at Mililani High School on Oahu, the site of the state’s Division I and Division II football championships.
For the KIF on Kauai, the girls flag football games will be played on Thursdays at Hanapepe Stadium and the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Park stadium. The KIF debut game is scheduled for March 6 at the Hanapepe Stadium, hosted by Waimea High School.
Kauai High School will face Waimea in a 5 p.m. kickoff followed by Kapaa High School meeting Island School at 6 p.m.
Founded in 1956, the HHSAA is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational athletic organization exclusively dedicated to serving 96 public and independent member high schools throughout the state, as they work cooperatively to support and promote athletics as part of the high school education program. As the umbrella organization of high school athletics, the HHSAA operates 44 state championships in 18 different sports, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition.
