High school girls flag football games on Long Island are officiated through the assigners that work with Section VIII (Nassau) and Section XI (Suffolk), so a school that's short should go to its assigner first. Everything outside that system, including club and travel teams, town rec leagues, middle school and youth divisions, preseason scrimmages, clinics and summer tournaments, is booked directly, and that's where we come in. Plan on two officials per field for competitive games, tell us which rulebook you play (school-style NFHS rules with New York modifications, or NFL FLAG youth rules) and send the field count and schedule. We quote each event or league block.
This page is for league directors, club coaches, recreation departments and tournament organizers running girls flag football on Long Island. If you run coed or boys youth flag, start with flag football referees for hire. If you're organizing a passing league with older players, see 7v7 football referees. Setting up a new season from scratch? Our league organizer checklist covers fields, insurance and scheduling.
Why girls flag football needs its own officiating plan
For years, flag football on Long Island mostly meant youth rec leagues and adult pickup games. The girls game changed that. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) published its first flag football rules book for 2025-26, and said in July 2025 that the growth of the girls game was what drove the urgency for national playing rules. At that point, 16 state associations had sanctioned girls flag football, and New York was one of them.
On Long Island, both sections run it as a spring varsity sport. Section VIII's Spring 2026 handbook describes a three-classification sport (Class A, B and C by enrollment), a season that opened March 9 and ended regular-season play May 8, Nassau County finals at LIU Post, and New York State semifinals and finals in early June. Section XI runs its own spring girls flag program in Suffolk with its own handbook.
The school season is only part of the picture. Players who make a high school roster usually started somewhere else: a town rec division, a club team, a clinic run by a former player, a summer tournament. Those games don't go through the section assigners, and they're the ones that end up with a parent volunteer holding a whistle when nobody else shows. That's the gap this page is about.
Which games we staff, and which we don't
| Game type | Who usually assigns officials | What to do if you're short |
|---|---|---|
| Section VIII or XI varsity / JV contests | The officials' associations and assigners that work with each section | The athletic director contacts the assigner. We don't take school contests out of that system |
| Club and travel girls flag teams | The club or the event host | Request officials directly |
| Town and park district rec leagues | The recreation department or league board | Request a season block, plus standby for weeks that fall apart |
| Preseason scrimmages, jamborees and clinics | The host program | Request by time block; scrimmages often need one official per field |
| Summer and fall tournaments | The tournament director | Request two-official crews per field and a standby |
Some of this depends on how your group is organized and what your facility contract says. If you're not sure which bucket a game falls into, tell us what it is and who's playing, and we'll say on the call whether it's something we should be staffing.
The rulebook question comes first
"Flag football" covers several different games, and the officials need to know which one they're working before they get to the field. On Long Island you'll mostly see two families of rules.
School-style rules (NFHS with New York modifications)
NYSPHSAA lists NFHS rules for flag football, updated each February. The NFHS book is written for a 7-on-7 game and leaves a long list of choices to each state, including field size (three options, one of them a regulation football field), whether to allow place kicks for field goals and tries, the number of game officials, hash marks and the flag style. Sections can then request their own waivers. Section VIII's 2026 handbook, for example, lists a request to not allow the field goal option and to keep its existing flag belt rules.
Before NFHS rules were adopted, New York played under NYSPHSAA's own girls flag rules, a modified version of NFHS football and NFL FLAG rules. Section 2 Football Officials' summary of the 2025 version describes a 40-by-80-yard field with 10-yard end zones, 14-inch flags, the ball spotted where the flag is pulled rather than where the ball is, rushers allowed from the line of scrimmage, and a 25-second play clock. Many club and offseason events borrow from whatever their players use in school, so expect to see versions of these rules in non-school games too.
NFL FLAG youth rules
Younger divisions, and plenty of rec leagues, play NFL FLAG-style rules: smaller fields, fewer players, a no-run zone near the goal line and first-down line, a rush line set back from the line of scrimmage and no contact. These are a different game from the high school version, and an official who has only worked one of them needs a few minutes with your rule sheet before the first snap.
Tip: Put a one-page summary of your rules on top of the full rulebook: players per side, field size, rush rules, how many flags per belt and what happens to a player who loses one, point values for tries, overtime, and the mercy rule. That one page prevents most of the arguments that stop games.
Crew size per field
The NFHS book leaves the number of game officials to each state, and non-school events can choose for themselves. In practice:
- Two officials is the standard we recommend for competitive girls games, tournaments and any game with standings or a bracket at stake. One official keeps the line of scrimmage, the snap, the rush and the spot; the other covers the deep field, flag pulls downfield and the goal line.
- One official can work a young rec division, a clinic scrimmage or a jamboree where nobody is keeping score, if you're comfortable with one person calling everything.
- A clock or scorekeeper takes timing off the officials when you play a running clock with a stoppage period near the end of halves, or a 25-second play clock. Our scorekeepers and timekeepers page covers that role.
Flag pulls are the hardest calls in this sport. A flag that comes loose without a pull, a player guarding her belt, a hair tie or untucked shirt covering the flags: these are judgment calls that one official forty yards away will miss. That's the practical case for two.
Short officials for a girls flag game or tournament?
Send the date, the fields and your rulebook. We'll tell you what we can cover.
Request a referee →Equipment and player-safety items to settle before game day
Officials will check what your rules tell them to check. They won't invent standards on the spot. Write these down:
- Flag belts: pop-off or clip belts, how many flags, minimum flag length, and whether belts are supplied by the league or by teams. Bring spares.
- Shirts and hair: whether jerseys must be tucked in and how long hair that covers flags is handled. Section 2 officials list both as points of emphasis for the school game.
- Mouthguards and headgear: required, optional or not allowed, and what happens to a player who arrives without a required item.
- Cleats: turf-safe molded cleats only, or are metal spikes banned by the facility?
- Ball size: by division. Section VIII's 2026 handbook names a youth-size official ball for varsity play; younger divisions usually go smaller.
- Jewelry and casts: your policy, so officials aren't making one up.
For outdoor events, publish your lightning and heat plan with the schedule. Spring girls flag runs into late-afternoon thunderstorms and summer tournaments run into heat. Our lightning and heat safety policy guide covers suspension and resumption.
When to book
| Type of event | When to request | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring rec or club league | Before your schedule goes out | Spring weeknights compete with lacrosse, softball, baseball and the school flag season for the same officials |
| Summer or fall tournament | Three to four weeks out | Several fields at once with two-official crews and standby; summer weekends book early. See summer sports booking |
| Preseason scrimmage or jamboree | One to two weeks out | Usually a short block on a weekday afternoon |
| Already short this week | Now | Last-minute coverage is what EmergencyRefs is built for |
What to put in your request
- facility name, address, parking and where officials check in;
- number of fields, field size and the hours each field runs;
- age divisions, and which rules each division uses (with your house changes);
- game length, clock rules and who supplies a play clock or timer, if any;
- whether you want one or two officials per field, and any standby hours;
- who on site handles coaches, spectators and an ejected player or coach;
- any certificate of insurance your facility requires. See our referee insurance certificate guide.
If all you have right now is a date and a field count, send that. We'll call back and fill in the rest with you.
Common problems at girls flag events, and how to head them off
"That flag fell off on its own"
Decide in advance whether a flag that falls off without a pull makes the ball carrier down by touch, and whether a player who starts a play without both flags is ineligible. Different rulebooks handle it differently, and it's the single most common argument we see.
Rush rules nobody explained
School-style rules and NFL FLAG youth rules handle rushers very differently. If your youth division uses a rush line and your older division doesn't, say so in both the coaches' packet and the officials' packet.
Mixed-experience officials
Girls flag is new enough that not every football official has worked it. If the best available official for a short-notice fill has worked tackle and coed flag but not girls flag, we'll tell you on the call so you can decide. A rules sheet and five minutes before the first game close most of the gap.
Coaches on the field
Some youth rules allow a coach on the field with younger players; school-style rules don't. Write down where coaches stand and whether they can talk to players between snaps.
Fees
We don't publish a girls flag rate card. Field count, hours, crew size, standby, bracket coverage and how close to the date you book all change the quote. The number on your quote is the number to plan around. For how the usual cost drivers work across sports, see referee cost by sport, and ask on the callback how rainouts are handled.
What we will not claim
We aren't affiliated with NYSPHSAA, Section VIII, Section XI, the NFL or NFL FLAG, and we don't assign interscholastic contests. We don't list leagues or clubs we "officially serve," and we won't promise that every field can be filled from a request sent the night before. What we do is put officials on your non-school girls flag games for the blocks you need, once the request is specific enough to assign.
Book girls flag football officials on Long Island
Fields, hours, divisions and your rulebook. Nassau and Suffolk, including same-week requests.
Request a referee →Frequently asked questions
Interscholastic contests in Section VIII (Nassau) and Section XI (Suffolk) are assigned through the officials' associations and assigners that work with each section, so a school that's short should contact its assigner. We staff girls flag games outside that system: club and travel teams, rec leagues, clinics, scrimmages and tournaments.
The NFHS flag football rules book leaves the number of officials to each state, and non-school events choose for themselves. We recommend two officials per field for competitive games and tournaments, one on the line of scrimmage and one deep. One official can work a young rec division or an unscored clinic scrimmage.
It varies. NYSPHSAA lists NFHS rules, updated each February, with section waivers; Section VIII's 2026 handbook lists NFHS/NYSPHSAA rules. Many youth and rec leagues play NFL FLAG-style rules instead. Send your rulebook and house changes with the request so officials know which game they're working.
The high school season is in the spring. Section VIII's Spring 2026 handbook listed a March 9 start, regular-season games through May 8, county finals at LIU Post and state finals in June. Club, rec and tournament play runs around that, often in summer and fall.
We don't publish a rate card. Field count, hours, crew size, standby, bracket coverage and how close to the date you book all change the quote. Send the details, and the quote on your request is the number to plan around.
Sources: NFHS, "First NFHS Flag Football Rules Book, Other Fall Sports Rules Publications Now Available" (July 17, 2025); NYSPHSAA Flag Football sport page (rules: NFHS, updated each February); Section VIII Flag Football Handbook, Spring 2026; Section XI Athletics, Flag Football – Spring (Girls); Section 2 Football Officials, NYSPHSAA Girls Flag Football rules summary (2025). Rule details are cited as examples; your event's adopted rulebook controls.