Powderpuff, the annual women’s flag football game, is one of the prominent events that homecoming week brings for students, helping to draw big crowds to play and cheer on Wakefield. The game is on Oct. 9, taking place out on the football field. Powderpuff holds a strong tradition in making homecoming week special and highlights the talented athletes of Wakefield.
Powderpuff includes two different games: one consists of the freshman versus the sophomores and the other is the juniors versus the seniors. The game is a fun and competitive way for classmates to compete against each other and have the opportunity to bond with one another.
Lyla Bagwell is a junior who is competing in Powderpuff this year; the game has enabled her to make lasting friendships with past teammates.
“I’ve made a lot of different relationships through [Powderpuff] because a lot of my friends do not play sports with me,” Bagwell said. “I’ve got to meet new people and it’s a lot of fun since the sports I play are always indoors.”
While the game is beneficial for bonding, it has also been a pioneer for women’s football. This is true for Mallory Stroud, a senior, who believes the game is a good way for women to participate in sports with fewer barriers.
“I think [Powderpuff] challenges traditional gender roles in sports because women don’t typically play football,” Stroud said. “[The game] is an opportunity to show that we can do the same things that guys can do.”
The Powderpuff game has been a catalyst for people to recognize how much women enjoy playing the sport and how they want the game to become a permanent event. Last year, that is exactly what happened.
Women’s flag football was created in Wake County as an approved sport that takes place for a season rather than for just one night. This gives many girls the opportunity to play the game that they enjoy so much on the night of Powderpuff and translate that same energy into the season games.
Danny Inscoe, the softball coach, has seen how the Powderpuff games have been beneficial to women in sports and thinks the new addition of the women’s flag football is profound
“Wake County is one of the few counties in North Carolina that actually has a sanctioned girls flag football team, which is awesome,” Inscoe said.
The incorporation of flag football has given women an opportunity to play as a varsity sport rather than a one-night-a-year game. It has drawn many new players in and given them an outlet to play a form of football.
“A lot of times flag football isn’t a common thing, but it’s become more and more popular within the girls league,” Bagwell said. “I think girls are seeing that and want to go on with it which is cool to see.”
In the future, there is hope among many people that Powderpuff and flag football will carry over from high school sports to college sports. This is the hope of the Athletic Director, Chancey Wolfe.
“[Women’s flag football has] evolved and morphed from [just Powederpuff] to something much bigger,” Wolfe said. “I foresee [it] going further to where girls have an opportunity to play women’s flag football in college at some point.”
For many, Powderpuff is a way to interact with fellow classmates and play a fun and exciting game of flag football. It is a way for the school to come together and support one another in a game that is sure to stay with the players for years to come.
“Especially in our school, it’s not as common for people to go to the women’s games as much as the guy’s games,” Bagwell said. “It can be changed [by] just trying to support everyone throughout the school.”
