Read the full stored bill text
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2041
Page 1 of 2
XXXX 2/5/2026 1:49 PM Jacketed
A RESOLUTION urging the Kentucky High School Athletic Association 1
(KHSAA) to recognize girls flag football as an official sport for its member schools. 2
WHEREAS, flag football is rapidly increasing in popularity, particularly in youth 3
leagues, due to the fewer number of violent collisions involved in the sport; and 4
WHEREAS, the sport has especially been embraced by young girls, many of whom 5
are aging out of youth leagues and entering the high school ranks; and 6
WHEREAS, many states across the nation have recognized this emerging trend, 7
with 17 states having already sanctioned girls flag football as an official interscholastic 8
sport; and 9
WHEREAS, an additional 21 states, including Kentucky, have unsanctioned pilot 10
programs where girls are participating in this growing sport; and 11
WHEREAS, in Kentucky, the Kentucky Girls High School Flag Football 12
Association (KGHSFFA) completed its second year of competition in November 202 5, 13
growing from 12 competing teams in its first year to 24 teams in year two; and 14
WHEREAS, in the 2025 KGHSFFA championship, the Assumption High School 15
Rockets defeated the Jaguars of Mercy Academy by a score of 13 to 6 to capture their 16
second consecutive title; and 17
WHEREAS, the enthusiasm of the participants in this nascent sport was perhaps 18
best expressed by Reese Owen, an Assumption senior and former gymnast who joined 19
the flag football team, who said, "It is my favorite sport I have ever done. I've done 20
almost every sport in the books, and I would say football has been my favorite"; and 21
WHEREAS, in a recent survey conducted by the KHSAA, 88 member schools said 22
they would field a girls flag football team if the sport were sponsored by the KHSAA; 23
and 24
WHEREAS, sanctioning this sport would continue to build on the KHSAA's 60 -25
year history of expanding athletic opportunities for young women through interscholastic 26
athletics; 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 2041
Page 2 of 2
XXXX 2/5/2026 1:49 PM Jacketed
NOW, THEREFORE, 1
Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 2
Kentucky: 3
Section 1. The members of the Senate encourage the Kentucky High School 4
Athletic Association to consider recognizing and sanctioning girls flag football as an 5
official sport offered by the organization. 6
Section 2. The Clerk of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this Resolution to 7
Commissioner Julian Tackett, Kentucky High School Athletic Association, 2280 8
Executive Drive, Lexington, KY 40505. 9