By Ashley Ferraro
Growing faster than ever, Parkland Flag Football is eagerly preparing for its Fall 2024 season. Registration has recently opened, and the organization is already experiencing a tremendous response from the community. The league has a cap of 1,200 kids and more than 900 kids have already registered.
Parkland Flag is proud to offer divisions for all boys and girls from kindergarten through twelfth grade. President Todd Link highlights the massive growth in the girls’ divisions in recent years, noting, “We’ve restructured our two youngest girls divisions to create a home for 6 year old girls. In the past, they either had to play in the 6-7 year old boys division or in an older girls age group.”
Nationwide flag football is experiencing tremendous growth. Women’s flag football is now an NCAA college scholarship sport. Several colleges in South Florida offer scholarships for women’s flag football. Mens’ and Womens’ Flag football will also make their Olympic debut in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Parkland Flag President Todd Link says it’s an excellent time for young girls interested in the sport to get involved. Parkland Flag has opportunities available for them.
In addition to fostering a fun and inclusive environment for young athletes, Parkland Flag has become an integral part of the Parkland community. The organization recently participated in the Parkland Day Parade, celebrating the start of registration for the upcoming season. Giving back to the community is a cornerstone of Parkland Flag’s mission. They have previously supported and continue to partner with charities like Not My Daughter, the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation, Safe Schools for Alex, and Make Our Schools Safe.
In another effort to support its community-centric mission, Parkland Flag offers high school students the chance to work as referees. Parents interested in registering their student as a referee can email parklandflagfootball@gmail.com.
Parkland Flag also just finished their first ever NFL FLAG Winter League, which drew nearly 700 players in its inaugural year. Impressively, several teams are attending the NFL Flag regional championship in Jacksonville on April 13th. These teams will have an opportunity to progress to the NFL Flag National Championship this summer at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Parkland Flag plans to continue with its NFL FLAG Winter League in January of 2025, along with its regular fall season that runs late August through early November 2024.
The start of the 2024 season is right around the corner. To accommodate families still on summer break during the first week of school, the season will now officially start on August 19th, during the second week of school. Mandatory evaluations are scheduled for August 17th-18th.
Historically, Parkland Flag started its season during the first week of school. However, when Broward County Schools moved their schedule up a week, it raised concerns among families who might not return from summer vacation in time. As a result, this start date became unfeasible. Fortunately, thanks to a considerate partnership with Parkland Soccer Club, Parkland Flag was able to postpone the start date to better accommodate these families.
Parkland Soccer Club collaborated with Parkland Flag Football to adjust their season’s schedule and accommodate Parkland Flag’s late start. Todd says, “They were great partners to work with and allowed us to solve this problem.”
Spots for the 2024 Parkland Flag Football season are filling quickly! Register your child now at www.parklandflag.com.
