“I was really upset, I’ve been practicing for the last month and then they cancelled it [powderpuff],” sophomore Thalea Trinidad said.

Powderpuff has been a longstanding homecoming tradition amongst high school girls, where different teams, determined by grade levels, play against each other in flag football games leading up to homecoming. Starting this year, girls flag football is a competitive sport, being sponsored by the Washington Commanders. Around 50 girls came out for tryouts and only 20 were selected for the team. 

The girls’ initial impressions were that those who wanted to take it seriously would play for the competitive team and those who just wanted to play for fun could still play powderpuff. Many were dispirited after finding out this wasn’t the case- powderpuff would be cancelled to focus on the competitive girls team.

“I was disappointed because my friends were going to do powderpuff and not competitive and now they’re just not doing either because powderpuff got canceled,” senior Chloe Facen-Vaughn said. 

Many looked at powderpuff as a stress-free opportunity to kick off the homecoming festivities, and were looking for a sport to compete in for fun with friends. This has sparked discussions about whether every activity needs to become ultra competitive or should some just be fun and low stress?

“It’s nice to know they are doing something nice with flag football,” English teacher Brian Hannon said. “Balancing both competitive and powderpuff wouldn’t be possible in the same season, so if powderpuff was in the spring it would work better.”

Almost all girls involved in powderpuff already play another high school or club sport, so powderpuff served as a refreshing break for players to get away from the stress of varsity sports. Competitive flag football isn’t a replacement for the powderpuff tradition;, instead, it’s an exciting new opportunity for girls across Fairfax County.

“I know the girls that are playing flag football are really excited. Our team is 2-0 after our first night and they are excited about the opportunity for a new sport for girls and specifically being able to play football in some capacity,” Athletic Director of Student Activities Daniel Drickey said.

While powderpuff’s future is currently undetermined, girls competitive flag football seems to have a very bright one.

“So I see the same thing happening for flag in which case it would be something that could earn a varsity letter, and there are more and more colleges now that are having flag football teams so it’s another scholarship opportunity for young ladies as well,” Drickey said.