What an eventful day for Colorado prep sports.
After months of debate, CHSAA's Legislative Council on Tuesday voted 57-9 in favor of sanctioning girls flag football starting in fall 2024. Five voters abstained from the decision.
The Legislative Council also voted 40-30 in favor of adding a shot clock in the 2026-27 season for varsity basketball.
The shot clock addition comes after months of discussions regarding the pros and cons of the system.
When the Legislative Council met in January, a measure to add a shot clock failed 43-28.
The basketball committee met in February and changed verbiage in the proposal to exclude C-team and junior varsity and only use the clock in varsity contests.
During Tuesday’s meeting, many supporters reacted in celebration of the move, which some felt was long overdue.
On the clock: A vote to add a shot clock in Colorado high school basketball is coming soon
“Finally! This is going to do wonders for (Colorado) student-athletes and their viability at the next level,” Jesse Bender, an assistant men’s basketball coach at SUNY Canton, said on X, the app formerly known as Twitter.
When clock usage begins in 2026-27, it will include boys and girls basketball and will be a 35-second shot clock.
The shot clock will also remain in play in cases of overtime.
For girls flag football, many expressed their satisfaction with the decision during the meeting and said they’re prepared to adjust on the fly to any changes necessary to keep the sport afloat.
“There’s an old expression that early feedback is better than late criticism,” said Michael Hughes, Lakewood High School athletic director. “We know there are some bumps and there are some hiccups with this. But … speaking as an athletic director at Lakewood High School, this has been one of the best things that has happened to our school in my seven years there.
“Girls (sports) participation had been declining but this has lifted our school up.”
Girls flag football began a pilot program in 2022 compiled of mostly Denver schools.
This year, CHSAA added six more to the cohort including four area schools with Colorado Springs Christian School, Coronado, Ellicott and Vanguard each having teams, bringing the total to 50 teams.
After two years, more than 1,300 girls have participated in the sport and girls flag football, from the inaugural season to this year, participation grew 161 percent.
“They want to play girls flag football and there’s not a good enough reason for us to stand in there way,” said Kylie Russell, Adams 12 district athletic director. “… Let those of us who want to offer girls flag football for our athletes figure out the hard stuff and pave the way.”
CHSAA’s Legislative Council last added sports in 2019 when it sanctioned boys volleyball, girls wrestling and unified bowling for the 2020-2021 season.
Prior to that, the Legislative Council hadn’t added any sports since the late 1990s when it sanctioned boys lacrosse in 1998 and had its first season in 1999.
“Today your vote is for every girl in the state of Colorado,” said CHSAA Board of Directors and Principal at Englewood High School Ryan West. “… This is not about flag football, this is about what is right for girls in our state.”
CHSAA Legislative Council rejects proposal to add shot clock in Colorado high school basketball
Other notes
Track and field will eliminate the sprint medley relay event from future state meets.
“(The sprint medley relay) does not fall in compliance with (National Federation of State High School Associations’) rule book and because of that, we’re running the event illegally,” said Kevin Clark, Thompson Valley director of activities and athletics. “We’re essentially sanctioning an event that is unequitable from the start. … This would be like the 3-point line being three feet closer for another team.”
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