Helena schools approve girls flag football for fall launch

Helena Public Schools took a unanimous step that will put girls flag football on the field at Helena High School and Capital High School this fall, backed by a $30,000 grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation to cover startup and first-year costs.

The decision gives girls in Helena another sanctioned pathway into high school athletics at a time when Montana’s version of the sport has moved quickly from pilot to statewide presence. For students who want a fall team but do not currently see themselves in the district’s existing offerings, the new program creates a direct entry point at both Helena high schools.

Montana’s high school association first approved the possibility of girls flag football as a regulated activity in April 2021, with the pilot able to begin as early as that fall if enough schools were interested. At that time, only six states sanctioned girls flag football at the high school level: Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and New York.

The early Montana pilot was funded by the Atlanta Falcons and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation for its first two years. The sport started in Montana with three schools in 2022, expanded to five schools in 2023 and reached 27 participating schools statewide by fall 2025.

Helena’s approval adds Lewis and Clark County to a growing network of Montana districts that have used Blank Foundation support to launch girls flag football. East Helena High School has said its girls flag football opportunity was made possible by grant funding from the foundation, and Great Falls Public Schools approved girls flag football as a club activity on March 23, 2026, also funded by a Blank Foundation grant.

The foundation says it has supported nonprofits in Montana since 2001 and granted more than $6.5 million to Montana-serving nonprofits in 2023, including youth development and other statewide initiatives. In Helena, that outside funding now translates into a concrete opportunity for girls at Helena High and Capital High, turning a board vote into a program that can begin when fall practices start.