The Colorado High School Activities Association Legislative Council approved the addition of CHSAA’s 33rd sanctioned sport in a vote Tuesday afternoon at the DCSD Legacy Campus in Lone Tree.
This fall, girls flag football will be added as Colorado’s 18th sanctioned high school sport for girls. The council also opted to add a shot clock for men’s and women’s basketball at the varsity level, among several changes planned for this fall.
“This is a great day for Colorado’s female athletes,” Larry Bull, district athletic director for Cherry Creek Schools, said in a news release. “The girls who participated in flag football worked extremely hard and achieved great results. It is an amazing accomplishment for our country to support these young female athletes.”
The second major development to come out of this meeting is that the CHSAA will begin implementing a shot clock for boys and girls basketball only at the varsity level. The clock goes into effect starting with the 2026-27 basketball season.
“This vote means Colorado basketball takes the next step with surrounding states,” Chaparral Athletic Director Rob Johnson said in a release. “It’s going to change the way the game is played and it should improve the game for the players and the coaches. Everything should improve and I’m really looking forward to it.”
In addition to these major changes coming out of this conference, the CHSAA is moving the high school ice hockey season forward by one week in order to play the Frozen 4 playoff semifinals and state championship games at a consistent venue. I also chose to start with
Additionally, spring sports dates will be rescheduled for the 2025 and 2026 high school seasons so that championships do not coincide with Memorial Day weekend.
The Ski State Championships will now be divided into two different championships: Alpine and Nordic competition disciplines.
There will also be a refresher course on the concussion course that returning coaches will be required to take, and CHSAA will provide schools with clear and specific instructions for completing player transfer paperwork.
