Lynden High Adds Girls Flag Football for 2025

Looking to increase opportunities for girls at Lynden High School, the Lions will offer girls flag football during the 2025-26 winter sports season for the first time.

The WIAA, the governing body of high school sports in Washington, made girls flag football an official sport this year, prompting Lynden to explore the idea of adding it to the school’s offerings. Mike McKee, Lynden athletic director, says a survey sent to high school students was met with strong interest. “We had what we thought was a really good response in our attempt to give girls more opportunities,” he says. 

We are thrilled to introduce girls flag football to Lynden,” says David VanderYacht, Lynden Schools superintendent. “This growing sport offers our students another meaningful way to participate in a positive activity where confidence, community and lasting relationships can be built.”

Flag football is currently offered at all three Bellingham School District high schools—Bellingham, Sehome and Squalicum—and Ferndale High School, although McKee expects about half the 16-team Northwest Conference will offer the sport in the next couple of years. Typically, teams have a roster of between 14 and 18 students. McKee says that since Lynden Christian does not offer the sport, girls attending LC who live within the boundaries of Lynden Schools can also join, similar to how the school already invites LC students to participate in boys and girls swimming, boys and girls tennis and boys and girls wrestling. 

In the winter season, Lynden currently offers basketball and wrestling for girls. “We are looking for opportunities for our girls,” McKee says. “We are a football town, so if we have enough students interested, we want to provide the opportunity.” 

Current plans have the team practicing on the football practice field. The smaller field size required for games—flag football is a seven-on-seven game played the width of a typical football field—will hopefully give Lynden options for where to play, although with no artificial turf that could be a challenge to host a home double-header as part of the weekly schedule during the season, especially in the first year. 

Lynden will soon start the search for a coach. McKee says the school has applied for a grant from the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks to help get the program started.