Congratulations on qualifying for the TSSAA Girls' Flag Football State Invitational! Below is pertinent information for preparing for the invitational. Should you have any questions leading up to the event, please email ecrowell@tssaa.org.
Schedule & Arrival
Teams will compete in pool play on Wednesday, May 7th, and advance into a single-elimination bracket on Thursday, May 8th. All participating teams will be guaranteed to play on both days of the tournament. Pools and brackets can be found at the link below, and the bracket will be filled in as soon as pool play is complete.
Team Entry - Participating teams, including all players, coaches, and managers, need to enter as a group at the entry gate. Teams competing in the first game each day should arrive no earlier than 12:45pm on Wednesday and 8:45am on Thursday. Girls' flag football coaches who are registered on the TSSAA Portal will receive a coaching credential to wear for the entire tournament that will allow free entry. School administrators can sign in for free entry at the entry gate. All other individuals will need to purchase a ticket.
Home/Visitor Designation - The team listed first in each pool play game/on the top of the bracket is the home team. The home team sidelines are on the exterior sides of the fields. The team listed second in each pool play game/on the bottom of the bracket is the visiting team. The visiting team sidelines are on the interior sides of the fields. Please see the map below for reference.
Labeled Siegel Soccer Complex Map
Pool Play Tiebreaker - All teams will be seeded based on their pool play results on Wednesday to determine where teams are placed in the bracket for Thursday's competition. The following progression will be used to determine seeding and break any ties:
- Overall record in pool play
- Games won in head-to-head competition between the tied teams (in case of a 2-way tie)
- The least amount of points given up against the tied teams
- Coin flip
*In the event of a 3-way tie, when the above tiebreaker procedure has been utilized to determine the seed of one team, the tiebreaker procedure shall begin all over again starting at the top to determine the next seed.
Warm-Ups & Game Details
Teams that are preparing to play in the next scheduled game can warm up on Field 5, which is the indoor facility at Richard Siegel Park. One half of Field 5 will be designated for warm-ups.
Games will start exactly when scheduled, unless a game runs late on the same field. In that instance, teams will be guaranteed 10 minutes of warm-up on their game field. The coin toss will be at midfield with 3:00 on the pregame clock. At least one and a maximum of 4 captains may be present.
Onside kicks are not allowed. The TSSAA rules do not include an onside kick.
Overtime procedures will be followed as detailed in this year's rules.
Equipment
Participating teams should be legally equipped in accordance with this year's flag football rules. Officials will conduct equipment checks prior to each game.
Footballs - You should be using what is usually called a "youth" size football, instead of the smaller "junior" size. The correct dimensions are roughly as follows: about 12.7 ounces, with a long circumference of 26.5 inches and a short circumference of 19.625 inches. You may provide your own game balls if they are the correct size. If you do not have the correct size, we will provide up to 2 game balls for use per field. Teams should bring their own balls for warm-ups.
Flags - Each player must wear a one-piece belt at the waistline with two pop flags (one flag on each side). Flags CANNOT be the same color as any part of the shorts being worn. This means if the shorts have a stripe, the flag cannot be the color of the shorts or the stripe. The flag color should contrast significantly from the short color. In the event a flag belt does not meet these standards, we may issue flag belts to be worn for your game.
Jerseys - If your team has a white and color jersey, please bring both. We want to ensure that the jerseys of opposing teams contrast significantly enough for the game to be easily officiated. There may be a scenario where the visiting team needs to wear pinnies if they do not have a white jersey. TSSAA has some pinnies to provide, but please bring pinnies as well if you do not have two sets of jerseys. To help with the planning, please email your jersey colors to ecrowell@tssaa.org as soon as you qualify.
Filming
Drones are not allowed.
Coaches or nonplayers in the team box are allowed to use video systems, but they cannot be used to communicate with a player on the field. They can be used during legal time-outs.
The championship final game on Thursday will be live-streamed on the NFHSNetwork.
Awards
Teams that advance to the championship final on Thursday at 5:00pm will participate in an awards ceremony following the conclusion of that game.
Roster Information
We would like for each team to complete a postseason entry form, primarily so we have rosters with jersey numbers for the media and spectators. Please follow these instructions below and complete the information by the end of day on Monday, May 5.
Prior to submitting the form, coaches need to submit their team roster with player number, player name, position, and grade along with a list of coaches through the TSSAA Portal. Following are the instructions for submitting your roster and coaches:
- Coaches must log into their TSSAA Portal account.
- Click on Sports
- Click on Rosters & Schedule
- Click on the Roster Details button out beside Girls' Flag Football and begin inputting the information for your players.
- Verify all of your coaches are listed.
- As you submit the requested information, we recommend you periodically hit the Save Changes button so you are not timed out of the system.
In addition to the roster, the following will also be required to submit with the form:
- TEAM RECORD (Please include all post season tournament play)
Athletic Directors may find the form in the Portal by clicking Forms, New Form, then Postseason Entry Form.
https://portal.tssaa.org/form/postseasonentry/
Completing the form involves verifying school profile and coaches' information, as well as providing the team roster and team's win/loss record. We are also requesting emergency contact information for your team in case of weather or safety emergencies. Correct any information shown BEFORE submitting the form. All information shown (except the school's name) can be changed by the school administrator.
The form is available to users assigned as Athletic Director, Athletic Secretary, Principal, Headmaster or System Athletic Director. Upon completion, the completed form will be emailed to the school athletic director and head coach.
