The Colorado High School Activities Association approved during its April meeting to add girls flag football as a sanctioned sport in the state and to add a shot clock for high school varsity girls and boys basketball.
Girls flag football, which will begin play this fall and crown its first state champion, will be the 33rd sport sanctioned by the CHSAA.
“It’s been neat to see what the Front Range has done with flag football,” Durango High School Athletic Director Ryan Knorr said. “They did an experimental season and it’s really positive and the more experiences you can give the young ladies to get involved and to do things the better.”
Fifty-seven of 71 voters approved girls flag football. Nine members of the legislative council voted “no,” and five abstained from voting.
Knorr believes Durango has the athletes to play flag football. He also said there are no Western Slope high schools with girls flag football programs, so he’s unsure how feasible it would currently be for the Demons to have a flag football team. Still, he’s excited to see what the Denver-Metro area has started.
Introducing a shot clock into Colorado high school basketball has been controversial.
The legislative council voted against it in January. On Tuesday, however, the council approved a 35-second shot clock for varsity girls and boys high school basketball games. There were 40 votes favoring a shot clock and 31 votes against it.
The shot clock will be implemented in the 2026-27 season.
“I'm in favor of it,” Durango boys basketball coach Alan Batiste said back in January. “I think some coaches might not be in favor of it because they have a guard to handle the basketball because they know that when it gets down to those two, three minutes they can make it protect the basketball. I think that will be the only backlash on it. I'm in favor of it. The game’s moving fast. The kids are already moving fast. They want to play fast.”
Most La Plata County high school basketball coaches favored adding a shot clock when asked about it in January. Numerous coaches were concerned about the financial aspect of installing the shot clock and paying someone to run it.
Knorr said he thought it was coming after meeting with other athletic directors. He also said the timeline is realistic and gives the school the time it needs to see what kind of technology and equipment updates Durango High School needs to have a shot clock.
“To me, it’s exciting,” Knorr said. “It’ll speed up some things and change philosophies on how to play the game.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
