(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: As the first year of Girls Varsity Flag Football reaches its regular season ending, the CIF/Southern Section (CIF/SS) and the CIF/Los Angeles City Section (CIF/LACS), will begin their first-ever 2023 post-season playoff rounds.

Both of these mentioned CIF entities will be releasing their playoff schedules by Divisions and Brackets very shortly. In between that happening, the Chargers have stepped up in a very timely manner to keep the very high interest of expanding Girls Varsity Flag Football to the next level by hosting this Friday and Saturday Championship-style tournament in Irvine, CA.

Here for our Chargers fans’ reading is the Club’s press announcement that explains what they will be doing this coming weekend as they host their very own Championship Tournament in Orange County, presented by Oakley with an Elite 20 Team field. Learn more about the Team’s mission to “Move The Game Forward” in this special event that the 20 Elite teams (see the list below) will be participating in.

Inaugural Chargers Girls Flag Championship Tournament, Presented by Oakley Kicks Off Friday with Elite 20-Team Field

All-Pro Safety Derwin James, Jr. will address the teams prior to the tournament opener on Friday, Oct. 27 and serve as an honorary coach

The Los Angeles Chargers, leaders in the movement that ultimately led to girls flag football becoming an officially sanctioned CIF sport beginning with the 2023-24 school year, will host the inaugural Chargers Girls Flag Championship Tournament, presented by Oakley this Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28. Co-hosted by San Juan Hills High School, the tournament boasts 20 of the top girls flag football programs in the CIF Southern Section.

The Chargers’ championing the growth of girls flag in recent years has taken on many forms and dovetails with the International Olympic Committee’s recent announcement designating Flag Football as an official Olympic sport for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Through organizing countless camps throughout Southern California, donating flag kits and jerseys, assisting in the formation of both teams and leagues, successfully running the Los Angeles League of Champions and organizing a collegiate girls flag football showcase that resulted in 25 high school athletes being offered college scholarships, the Chargers impact on the growth of flag football in the region has been significant.

Through camps and other supporting events, in 2023 alone the Chargers have impacted more than 3,000 girls in the flag football space.

“We are thrilled to partner with Oakley to host the Chargers Girls Flag Championship Tournament,” said Chargers Director of Football Development Zac Emde. “This tournament provides an opportunity for these exceptional young athletes to showcase their skills and passion for the game against the best of the best. As much as we’re helping grow the game of flag football, this also marks another significant step in promoting women’s sports as a whole and empowering the next generation of female athletes.”

As a sponsor for this first-of-its-kind tournament, Oakley is continuing to lean into its mission of “Move the Game Forward” by supporting both the game of girls flag and a future generation of athletes on and off the field. The brand will be outfitting the winning team, staff and Chargers legends in attendance with backpacks and featured Oakley BXTR Metal. Oakley BXTR Metal features a high-wrap shield-design, ideal for competition, while the metal is an homage to the prototype first Oakley eyewear. All eyewear are equipped with Prizm™ Lens Technology, enhancing detail, color and contrast in wearers’ surrounding environment.

Set to unfold over two action-packed days, the tournament will bring together some of the top high school girls flag football programs in the CIF Southern Section on Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28. A single elimination tournament divided into two divisions, initial rounds of games will be held at the Great Park in Irvine from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM on Friday, while the grand finale will take place on Saturday at Orange Coast College’s Jack Kemp Stadium from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

• The 20 CIF Southern Section high schools participating in the Chargers Girls Flag Championship Tournament, Presented by Oakley include:

  Aliso Niguel

  Corona

  Corona Del Mar

  Cypress

  Dos Pueblos

  El Dorado

  Esperanza

  Highland

  Huntington Beach

  ADVERTISEMENT

  Lawndale

  Long Beach Poly

  Los Alamitos

  Mater Dei

  Mission Viejo

  Orange Lutheran

  Rosary Academy

  San Juan Hills

  Torrance

  Warren

  Westlake

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Hope you will make plans to come out and support these amazing student-athletes as they pursue their own dreams of competing under the banner of our California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), at the varsity level, while hopefully attracting the attention of college recruiters who may offer scholarships to their colleges and/or universities in the very near future as well more seasons that will be forthcoming.