SOURCE: USA Football
INDIANAPOLIS – USA Football will host a national flag football championship in 2020 titled, “The One,” it was announced today. The One will be among America’s largest youth and adult flag tournaments, drawing teams from a national series of sanctioned tournaments and at-large entrants next summer. This also marks the first time in USA Football’s 18-year history that it will sanction flag tournaments nationwide.
The One will be held July 24-26, 2020 at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind., spanning teams across 17 divisions from age 7 to adults. Grand Park’s 400 acres encompass a full-range of championship-level outdoor facilities and is the training camp home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
Flag football tournaments sanctioned by USA Football will receive the national governing body’s marketing assistance, operational resources and staff support. USA Football is the exclusive U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee member dedicated solely to the sport. Approximately 70 countries across six continents possess a national federation devoted to American Football.
“Our flag football sanctioned tournament structure will set a new standard in quality within our sport’s community and enhance the experience of each competing athlete,” said USA Football Senior Director of Football Operations ERIC MAYES. “We look forward to the structure’s ultimate culmination when we welcome teams from across the country to Central Indiana next summer for three days of elite competition at a world-class venue.”
In addition to teams earning full or partial bids to The One through USA Football-sanctioned tournaments, youth and adult flag teams interested in competing in the annual championship are eligible for at-large entry and can register to participate. For more information on The One and how to register, visit usafootball.com/flag-tournaments.
Youth and adult flag football tournaments can earn USA Football sanctioning. Among the unlimited number of general-sanctioned tournaments, eight youth and five adult tournaments will be recognized as qualifiers. Qualifiers will receive four fully financed bids to The One while general-sanctioned tournaments will receive four half-financed bids. All bids advancing teams to The One will be determined by the sanctioned tournament’s operator. Adult qualifier tournaments will also serve as formal evaluation opportunities for U.S. Flag National Teams.
For a full list of requirements and benefits of USA Football’s sanctioned tournament series, visit usafootball.com/flag-tournaments.
About USA Football: USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive programs to advance, unify and grow the sport. As the sport’s national governing body, member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and organizer of the U.S. National Team for international competition, USA Football partners with leaders in medicine, child advocacy and athletics to support positive football experiences for youth, high school and other amateur players.
