“I think it’s so important that women have the same opportunities as men do, and it’s so amazing that our school is helping that happen in Marin,” Katie Malas, a junior at Terra Linda High School and center on the girls’ flag football team, said.
Terra Linda completed its second year with a team this past fall, playing 20 games between September and November. They played opponents in Marin and throughout the Bay Area, such as Novato, San Marin, San Rafael, Analy and Rancho Cotate. In February of 2023, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) made flag football an official high school sport, leading teams to form across the state — including at Redwood.
Sophomores Lauren Van Dusen and Juliete McNamara recently began promoting a girls’ flag football team. They had always been interested in the sport and took action last November.
“My sister did [Klassy Kickoff] and our friend who goes to Saint Ignatius High School was on the flag football team there. They both had the best time, so we wondered, ‘Why doesn’t our school have flag football?’” Van Dusen said.
The girls met with athletic director Jessica Peisch in December to discuss forming a team, and they organized a meeting for interested students in January.
“We had the informational meeting to gain traction and had a lot of support: the classroom was full,” Van Dusen said.
Although this is more than enough students to form a team, 50 sign ups are necessary to go to the Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) for funding.
Van Dusen and McNamara have been working to boost interest, including hanging posters in hallways and talking to friends. However, aside from the current group of 31 girls, the pair has had difficulty gaining interest from students.
“It’s hard to get the word out to everyone. As sophomores, it’s easy to go up to friends in class and explain this cool thing we’re trying to start, but it’s a lot harder to get upperclassmen interested enough to join,” McNamara said.
Peisch, who has been working with Van Dusen and McNamara, explained the next phase: involving TUHSD.
“The next step would be talking to the district and looking into the funding aspect of adding another sport in the fall. Our district is currently decreasing enrollment, so involving [them] would examine what it would look like to add another team, [which] may require eliminating another team,” Peisch said.
The district’s funding would include money for referees, facility rentals, jerseys and other equipment.The criteria for adding a new sport involves multiple steps. First, it must be approved by CIF, and there must be interest from the community or students, both of which have already occurred. The sport must also, when possible, be of interest to all schools in the district and be available for all genders; however, flag football would be added as a girls’ sport only, and as of now, only at Redwood. Lastly, the district must be able to financially support the team.
Tamalpais and Archie Williams high schools do not currently have flag football teams, but San Rafael, San Marin and Terra Linda do. However, the participation from these three schools, including Redwood, still does not meet the requirements for the sport to become part of the Marin County Athletic League. The team would instead play in a non-MCAL league, likely with the other Marin schools that played last year.
“If there are five schools [participating] for three years, then it becomes an MCAL league. There is [also] a North Coast Section; this was the first year that [flag football] had a postseason,” Peisch said.
Van Dusen and McNamara are eager to start and have high hopes for the team.
“The first season, in my eyes, [will be] pretty competitive. We want to start very strong, maybe even hold tryouts, depending on how many people come. We want to come out excited and committed,” McNamara said.
Beyond competing for wins, Van Dusen and McNamara are also fighting for athletic equality.
“I want more people to get interested in girls’ sports at Redwood. If we can get this started in the fall, then hopefully we can build a community, meet new people and support girls’ sports more,” McNamara said.
