Philadelphia Eagles sponsor new girls flag football team at Kingsway
SWEDESBORO, N.J. — Hit ’em low, hit ’em high, and watch the Kingsway Dragons fly! This year marks the start of a new high school varsity girl’s’ flag football league at Kingsway, sponsored by the Philadelphia Eagles, according to a press release sent out by Kingsway Superintendent James Lavender. The official announcement of the program comes on Feb. 1 — National Women and Girls in Sports Day. The program is set to begin March 2023.
The new high school varsity girl’s flag football program is also supported by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, although it is not yet considered an NJSIAA official sport. June Cioffi, Kingsway’s director of athletics, said a girls’ flag football league has already been established in North Jersey with the Eagles’ support, and the Eagles wanted to bring the program to South Jersey.
Kingsway will be a member in the Tri-County Division, joining the newly formed West Jersey Football League in an eight-game season — other member schools include Washington Township, Hammonton and Pennsauken.
The process for joining will be similar to the process of joining other sports at Kingsway, Susan Massara, the girls’ flag football head coach, said. It includes registering online, getting physically cleared and participating in a tryout. She said she hopes to keep 25 athletes — and she expects a positive turnout.
“Anytime something new is announced, the excitement levels go through the roof,” Massara said. “I don’t anticipate anything less from these athletes at Kingsway … I have been hearing the athletes talk with great anticipation about the season.”
In June 2022, the Eagles presented the program to the South Jersey Athletic Directors, Cioffi said. One year prior to this announcement, the Philadelphia public and Catholic school systems also established girls’ flag football programs, created by the Eagles. The Eagles will sponsor the first 16 teams who show interest in South Jersey, Cioffi said, and for the first year, they’ll supply 25 team jerseys, equipment and $3,000 to use toward any additional costs.
The program’s intention is to “elevate the sport of girls’ flag football in an effort to promote gender equality in sports offered at the high school level and help grow the game of football by providing unique opportunities for female students to play a game where they have minimal representation,” as well as to make flag football a sanctioned New Jersey sport, according to the press release.
“We greatly appreciate this partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles to secure more valuable opportunities for our female athletes to shine,” Lavender said in the press release. “As an organization we prioritize equal opportunities for our female students and this program aligns with our mission of inclusion, support, and belonging for our students.”
Cioffi said many schools have combined boys’ and girls’ swim, golf, wrestling, bowling and cross-country teams, and she said girls’ flag football is another opportunity for female athletes to participate in athletics.
“Over the last few years, we added girls’ golf and girls’ wrestling, separate from our boys’ teams, and it gives them the same opportunities as our boys’ sports, and they are able to participate with other female teams across the state,” Cioffi said. “We are fortunate enough to have the support of our Superintendent, Dr. Lavender and enough females to start their own teams. It gives them a sense of belonging and confidence.”
The Eagles are doing a “nice job” promoting flag football in South Jersey and are also offering clinics and other programs for the players and coaches to learn the sport, Cioffi said. A playoff jamboree will be held at Lincoln Financial Field, and there will be a championship game at the Eagles NovaCare Complex in May.
Massara said she is most looking forward to beginning a new sport for young women at Kingsway and is optimistic about the kind of team she’ll be able to create. She’s been a football fan her whole life, she said — she even has experience playing in a flag football women’s league.
“When the position opened, I jumped at the chance to try to become part of something fresh and exciting, and ultimately something that can empower the young women here at Kingsway,” Massara said.
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