Albert Alcantar moved to Nevada after a long career with Vancouver Public Schools, and he is excited to hear that Washington has sanctioned girls flag football, a sport that is thriving in another Clark County — Las Vegas
Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com
A longtime Southwest Washington sports administrator who now works in Nevada said the Evergreen State can expect big things from a new sport.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association voted to sanction girls flag football, with the initial season to start next academic year.
In Nevada, girls flag football has been sanctioned by its state’s governing body since 2017.
“We have a lot of girls who wanted to do it. They love it,” said Albert Alcantar, former athletic director for Vancouver Public Schools who now is an assistant principal and athletic director at a high school in Las Vegas.
Alcantar, who still has family and friends in Washington and keeps tabs on Northwest news, said he was excited to hear that the Seattle Seahawks were a big part of the push to support girls flag football in Washington.
“Here in Nevada, the Raiders are huge supporters. The Raiders are pushing it big time. This year, we had the state championship in Allegiant Stadium,” Alcantar said. “The boys have had their football state championships in Allegiant Stadium. Now the girls have theirs.”
The National Football League has been pushing the sport for the world’s youth for years. Flag football, in fact, will debut as an Olympic sport in 2028. A commercial highlighting the sport during this past Super Bowl featured a high school athlete from Las Vegas.
Officials in Southwest Washington told Clark County Today that they are working on the logistics to figure out when school districts will offer the sport. The WIAA sanctioned it beginning the 2025-26 school year, but it is not required that every school district will offer the sport.
Surveys will likely be held to determine interest. Then there is the issue of availability of fields.
Mick Hoffman, executive director of the WIAA, said that some areas of the state might hold the regular season in the fall. Others might opt for the winter or spring. The state championships would likely be held in the spring.
Currently, boys and girls tennis and boys and girls golf are sports that are split up with fall and spring seasons in Southwest Washington, with state championships in late spring.
Weather conditions in the eastern part of the state might mean flag football is a spring or a fall sport. But in the west, perhaps it could be done in the winter. Then again, middle school soccer teams use the turf fields in the winter in Southwest Washington.
So yes, a lot of details have to be worked out in Washington for an added sanctioned sport but the same number of athletic facilities.
In Nevada, girls flag football is a winter sport. Alcantar noted that while it can be cold — for Nevadans — it is usually still dry in Las Vegas over the winter months. Washington flag football will definitely see some obstacles if it were to be played in the winter.
At Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, there were three times as many female athletes out for flag football this past winter than basketball, Alcantar said.
“Our numbers keep growing,” he said.
That includes flag football players he never figured on trying out for sports teams. He said Bonanza has two players who were more known for their theater ambitions. Two others played in the band for Friday night football games in the fall who now play their own football in the winter.
“We’ve got all types of girls,” Alcantar said, and he remembers a conversation he had with a couple of girls. “They said, ‘I love football because my dad and brothers always played it. Now I get the opportunity. I know it’s not tackle, but it’s still fun.’ A lot of girls know football. They have a connection to it.”
The game is 7 on 7 and every player is eligible to catch a pass in flag football. The field is 80 yards long and 40 yards wide. There are no-run zones, as well, ensuring a forward pass on plays that start in those zones.
Girls flag football is also sanctioned by the National Federation of State High School Associations. The Nevada rules are based on NFHS guidelines.
Alcantar and Hoffman have been friends for decades. Alcantar has given Hoffman some names to contact in Nevada if he needs any help in starting girls flag football in Washington.
Interestingly, in Nevada, girls wrestling was just sanctioned last year. So Alcantar says Nevada officials have been looking at the success of girls wrestling in Washington as a start-up for Nevada’s journey into that sport.
“Girls wrestling is started to take off here,” said Alcantar, a longtime wrestling coach before he moved into sports administration. “Washington has been doing it for years.”
For girls flag football, just flip-flop that scenario. It’s new to Washington, and already a winner in Nevada.
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