Utah Girls Football League

The Utah Girls Football League (Utah Girls Tackle Football League, GFL or Utah GFL) is a nonprofit youth American football league. Founded in March 2015, the league is currently in its sixth season. It is the first all-girls tackle football league in the United States.[1] The league is continuously growing. As of its 2018 season (March 19 to June 1),[2] GFL consists of six districts or teams, and each district has three divisions, a 5th/6th grade division, a 7th/8th grade division, and a High School division.[2] As of 2019, the league has 446 girls, ranging from fourth grade to twelfth grade, on 24 teams; 35% of the girls are minorities.[3]

Utah Girls Football League
AbbreviationGFL
FormationFounded 2015
TypeNonprofit Youth Sports League
Region
Salt Lake County
Commissioner
Crystal Sacco
Key people
Sam Gordon
AffiliationsUSA Football
Websiteutahgirlstacklefootball.com

The league is currently run by a board of directors, overseen by the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the league. Everyone in the league is a volunteer.

Sam Gordon, female football player, known for her abilities as a football player that gained her acclaim playing with the boys when she was nine years old, helped found the league in 2015. She has played in it each season since.

Media coverage

The Utah Girls Football League gained national acclaim when it started in 2015. It has seen nationwide news coverage. The league has received both praise and criticism. While most news organizations have simply reported on it being the first of its kind (like CNN,[4] The Huffington Post,[5] USA Today,[6] Fox 13,[7] NBC News,[8] Yahoo Sports[9] and Good Housekeeping[10]), others, such as Bleacher Report[11] and espnW,[12] have reported on Sam Gordon's role in the league. Some media companies have even taken a specific stance on the league. ESPN, for example, aired a segment in which the safety of the league was called into question.[13][14] In the segment, they brought on a medical doctor who said that there is heightened risk of concussions for children and perhaps even further risk for girls. Others, however, have pushed praise onto the league, encouraging their audience to sign up.[15]

In June 2017 Sam Gordon and her father, alongside five other Utah Girls Football League players (and their parents), filed a class action lawsuit against three local school districts to force high schools to offer girls’ football in the Salt Lake Valley.[16] It uses Title IX as justification. The lawsuit is ongoing and has received national coverage.[17]

Districts

GFL is split into 6 districts based on the local cities and schools, each one containing three teams of different age divisions.[18]

  • Herriman
  • Bingham
  • Riverton/Utah County
  • West Jordan/Copper Hills
  • West Granite/Davis County
  • Canyons/East Granite/Murray

Corporate structure

The Utah Girls Football League is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is run by a board of directors.[19] The league's board of directors is responsible for electing a Commissioner. The current president of the league is Crystal Sacco.[20][21] According to the rules of the Utah Girls Football League, the president is "responsible for coordinating and running meetings, maintaining league records, initiating the scheduling process, revising and distributing league rules, monitoring the registration process, and acting as the final arbiter of any disputes that might arise."[19]

Any formal propositions to change any league methods, procedures, systems or other major decisions are affirmed by a greater part vote of the Board of Directors present at the meeting at which the vote is taken. If necessary, the Commissioner of the league will vote to break the tie.[19] The GFL only employees volunteers who do not receive pay for their work/contributions to the league, the exception to this being the official game referees. In addition to the board of directors, Utah Girls Football League also employees a Deputy Commissioner, Treasurer, Safety Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator, Web Developer, Coaching Coordinator, and League Secretary.[20] Coaches for the league are volunteer and must be USA Football Heads Up Certified.[19]

gollark: I am now declaring wireless drivers an enemy of mankind.
gollark: Also vehicles of some kind. These conglomerates make tons of things.
gollark: Interesting variants: a reverse version which is transferred to someone when you ping them, and one which isn't removed from the initial person.
gollark: Fun thing I just implemented on another server: a role which one person starts with and which is transferred to you and removed from them if you ping them.
gollark: There are actually some experimental things involving just immersing servers in mineral oil.

References
  1. "Girls tackle football? Yeah, it's happening". Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  2. "Utah Girls Tackle Football League". Utah Girls Tackle Football League. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  3. This Football League Was Built For Girls Who Love To Hit
  4. Viral football star joins 1st tackle league for girls - CNN Video, retrieved 2017-03-17
  5. Dicker, Ron (2015-05-22). "There's Going To Be A Tackle Football League For Little Girls In Utah". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  6. "A group of fifth and sixth grade girls are getting a tackle football league of their own". For The Win. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  7. "Tackle football league for girls kicks off in West Jordan". fox13now.com. 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  8. "Girls Tackle Football League Is a Big Hit". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  9. "Girls tackle football? Yeah, it's happening". Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  10. "The First All-Girls Tackle Football League Debuts in Utah". Good Housekeeping. 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  11. Studios, BR. "Sam Gordon Paved the Way for 1st All-Girls Tackle Football League". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  12. "Phenom Sam Gordon Set To Star In First Girls Tackle Football League". espnW. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  13. "ESPN". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  14. "ESPN on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  15. LAKANA (2017-03-02). "How Your Daughters Can Play Tackle Football". GOOD4UTAH. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  16. https://sports.yahoo.com/sam-gordon-remember-files-lawsuit-make-girls-high-school-football-reality-235213870.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. http://usatodayhss.com/2017/one-time-female-youth-football-phenom-sam-gordon-is-suing-to-create-a-hs-girls-football-league-in-utah. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. "Utah Girls Tackle Football League". Utah Girls Tackle Football League. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  19. "Utah Girls Tackle Football League Rules". Utah Girls Tackle Football League. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  20. "Utah Girls Football League Linked In About". Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  21. "Utah Girls Football League - About | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.