January/February 2025 - A5

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Flag football will be included in the 2028 Olympics
in Los Angeles; it was included in the most recent
iteration of the World Games in Birmingham,
Alabama (2022).
Field Needs: Although, as previously mentioned
the NFHS is still in the process of writing its own
flag football rules, programs being hosted at the
collegiate level already have information on field
sizes, markings and more. NFL FLAG, one of the
organizations currently sanctioning flag football
nationwide, promotes fields of a smaller size than
that of a standard field.
In many areas of the country, flag football is played
in the spring, whereas tackle football is a fall
sport. However, with the rise in popularity, both
types of programs will need space for practice and
conditioning; therefore, there may well be a need
for more fields.
Wrestling: Another highlight is the sizeable
jump in the number of girls wrestling at the
high school level. The NFHS recorded explosive
participation on wrestling teams nationwide with
64,257 participants last year - an increase of 102
percent from the 31,654 in 2021-22. Right now,
44 states sanction high school wrestling for girls;
additionally, the sport is on track to be the NCAA's
91st championship sport, with the first women's
wrestling championship to be held in winter 2026.
Facility Needs: As with flag football, this growth at all
levels can mean a need for more practice, training and
competition space, as well as equipment like mats.
Lacrosse: While the sport has grown in popularity
nationwide, here's something new: The version of the
sport that will be presented at the Olympics in 2028
differs from that seen in high schools and colleges,
where 10 players are on each side. The discipline
in 2028 will be known as Sixes, which has, as the
name suggests, six players per side (including the
goalie) and is played on a smaller field (70m x 36m)
in four 8-minute quarters. World Lacrosse Sixes was
first used at a major international sporting event at
the 2022 World Games. Small-sided play has been
making headway nationwide, and it is predicted to
gain particular popularity at the college club level
- as well as among adults who want to join social
sports clubs after high school or college.
USA Lacrosse has information on field dimensions for
both traditional and sixes play formats.
Note: ASBA's publication, Sports Fields: A
Construction and Maintenance Manual, can provide
in-depth information on field construction and
care, and includes information on both natural and
synthetic surfaces.
Esports: The number of participants in esports
also increased at the high school level in 2023-24. A
total of 27,051 students participated in esports last
year, which included 23,041 boys and 4,010 girls - an
increase of 3,129 participants from the previous year.
Gaming is also experiencing exponential growth in
colleges nationwide. The National Association of
Collegiate Esports (NACE) started in 2016 with a total
of seven members (the total number of schools at that
time with esports programs) and now has more than
240 member schools and 5,000-plus student athletes,
as well as sponsors and an annual convention.
Facility Needs: Facilities for esports can vary from
independent setups used by students from home
or dorm settings, all the way up to arenas that draw
national, and even international, competitions.
Colleges with competitive esports programs are
increasingly having designated lounges and areas
where students can train and compete.
Beach Volleyball: This came to the Olympics
in 1992 and had what can only be described as a
meteoric rise in popularity; in fact, it moved through
the NCAA's Emerging Sports for Women program
and achieved full championship status more quickly
than any sport before or since.
The sport is continuing to grow not just at the
college level but in high school and club play, since
many athletes are pursuing college scholarships.
Presently, more than 90 NCAA institutions offer
beach volleyball, and youth clubs, seeing the
opportunity for college scholarships, are creating
their own programs to serve as feeder systems.
Facility Needs: In the rush to add the sport at the
youth and college level, it is easy to overlook the
fundamentals of construction, which includes not
only court sizes and net heights but sand types and
drainage considerations. Improperly constructed
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January/February 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January/February 2025
