Today's interviewee is Amanda Dinkel, community relations manager of the Atlanta Falcons. Dinkel was asked about the Falcons' support of girls flag football in Georgia high schools. With the success of the flag football leagues funded by the Falcons and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Falcons are hopeful that the Georgia High School Association will make flag football a sanctioned sport in 2020.
Amanda Dinkel, Atlanta Falcons community relations manager
1. What are the origins of the Falcons' initiative to promote girls flag football in Georgia? "A few years ago, we started focusing on the idea of having girls flag football become an official sanctioned sport in high schools throughout Georgia, but we first needed to gauge if there was any interest. In 2018, we approached Gwinnett County Public Schools with the opportunity to pilot this program, and they were completely on board. In the fall of 2018, each of their 19 high schools fielded a girls flag football team funded completely by the Atlanta Falcons and Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. They had so much interest that most of the high schools had to host tryouts with hundreds of girls trying out. This year, we have six total counties - Cherokee, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Henry, Muscogee and Rockdale - on board to field teams in each of their high schools, totaling 52 high schools."
2. How did that first season go? "The first season in the fall of 2018 was overwhelmingly successful. I don't know if anyone could have ever thought it would be as awesome as it ended up being. Gwinnett County Public Schools did a tremendous job of making sure the program was executed flawlessly, but most importantly, all the girls participating had an absolute blast. We went to several of the games throughout the season, and to see them playing was incredible. It was intense! We also hosted the girls to our Monday Night Football game where they were nationally recognized on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium right before kickoff. The highlight of the fall was the end-of-season championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The day of the championship, we had all 19 teams from Gwinnett County attend a summit in our field-level club where they were able to hear from prominent women in the sports industry. After the summit, the final four teams took the field to battle for the championship title. Hundreds of fans showed up to watch, and the girls got to experience playing on the field, which included full production on the video board and all. It was amazing. Peachtree Ridge ended up winning the championship. Everyone had so much fun, and it was a great way to end a fantastic season."
3. What is happening this season with flag football in the high schools? "This season, we have six total counties participating in girls high school flag football with complete funding from the Falcons and the Blank Family Foundation. Every high school in each of the counties will have a girls flag football team participating. Each county is different on when their season begins, but most started at the end of September or early October. All the counties will end their season by having at least one team compete in the Atlanta Falcons Girls Flag Championship in December at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Falcons have been involved by not only providing funding but also having a presence at games throughout the season and of course the end-of-season tournament. It is important for us to not just write a check to fund this but also have boots-on-the-ground support as well."
4. Why do you believe this is such an important initiative? What have been the proudest moments? And where do you see things going from here? "This initiative has been at the forefront for the Atlanta Falcons for the past few years and will continue to be of the utmost importance moving forward. We strongly believe that everyone should have access to play this sport. Girls flag football is a great way to give more girls not only an opportunity to be part of an organized sport but also provides more outlets for physical activity. This sport brings together girls from a variety of backgrounds, skill level and interests, which is so cool. We were beyond proud last year when we heard all these girls talk about how they finally found a team they felt they could be a part of or fit in with, or that they met girls that will be lifelong friends. It is our ultimate goal to see this become an official sanctioned high school sport throughout Georgia in the years to come and expect that to happen in the near future."
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