Flag football was introduced to Wake County in the 2023-24 school year and has quickly grown in popularity. Between the National Football League (NFL) kickstarting programs to promote flag football and the sport being introduced to the 2028 Olympics, flag football has a promising future. However, with 30 states offering flag football as a varsity sport, rule differences are bound to happen. In an attempt to curb confusion and keep the rules more consistent for the upcoming Olympics and for future college games, Wake County has altered its rulebook for the 2025-2026 season. 

“The rules are new for everyone, putting them on a level playing field with returning players,” said Defensive Coach David Johnson.

With the implementation of these new rules, the defensive side of the ball has seen several changes to rushing, formations, and pulling flags. In previous years, whoever was rushing the quarterback had to declare themselves as a rusher. They had to stand seven yards off the ball and raise their hand to check in order to rush. This year, they can rush one yard off the ball without declaring their rush. Johnson says that this will make the game a lot faster and widen the range of plays the defense can run.

“The implementation of the 1-yard rush has made the game so much faster! Defenses can do different things out of different formations, and it forces the offense to speed up their processing,” said Johnson. “It allows us to disguise coverages better, bring pressure from different spots/formations, and be more aggressive overall.”

However, Senior quarterback Evie Goodman has some worries about the new rule.

“It speeds up the gameplay so much, and it’s a lot more pressure on the quarterback,” said Goodman, “It feels like a whole new game, and it’s going to take a lot of time to get used to these rules.”

On the offensive side of the ball, there have been even more changes. Instead of having to snap to the quarterback, the center can snap the ball to anyone who is two yards away from the ball. This allows for more trick plays. To combat the new rushing rules, the offense is now allowed to block. This can help the offense, but it can also add a different layer of difficulty. 

“A lot of our players in their sport backgrounds don’t really take a lot of contact, and if they do, they don’t have to play through it,” said Granger, “However, I think we’ve taken a lot of strides in being more serious about being a really competitive football team.”

Senior Ellery Van Horn, a right blocker, says that although the game has a new aspect, it’s a very crucial one.

“This rule is great for me because last year, right tackle wasn’t a position, so this new rule change gave me a position,” said Van Horn. “It’s also great because I get to actively help the team out on each play by giving the quarterback enough time to make a throw, so our team can make plays.”

Another major rule change comes from the belts that are used and the new size of the field. The field is now 120-yards by 240 to 300-yards long, where you have to get 20-yards for a first down. If you don’t get the first down in the first three downs, you get the chance to punt. However, getting to those 20-yards isn’t as easy as you think with the new flags. Instead of two flags that pop off the belt when pulled, the new flags are sewn into the belt and can be pulled off by a clip. However, some have expressed their worry when it comes to these new belts. 

“The new belts that they’re making us use in combination with the rushing, especially, makes it hard to score because the belts are very easy to pull,” said Granger, “You can knock a belt off without really even grabbing it, as long as you hit it.”

Although these new rule changes come with some getting used to, Johnson says it puts people on an even playing field and will help continue the growth of the sport as a whole. 

“This year is really the first time women’s flag football has had a true season with summer workouts, a large pool of tryout players, and the incoming freshman class knowing the sport is available,” said Johnson. “I can’t wait to see not only how this year plays out, but what this looks like five years from now!”