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Girls'
Flag
Football
Showcase
Returns
for
Third
Year at
Detroit
Prep
Kickoff
Classic
Bunky
McFadden
- Sports
Tell Us
Detroit
News
Bureau
DETROIT
- Girls'
flag
football
will
take
center
stage
again
this
month as
the
Detroit
Sports
Commission
(DSC)
brings
back its
Girls'
Flag
Football
Showcase
for a
third
consecutive
year
during
the 21st
Amazon
Prep
Kickoff
Classic
(APKC)
on
Wednesday,
Aug. 26,
at Tom
Adams
Field on
Wayne
State
University's
campus.
The
showcase,
which
debuted
at the
2024
Prep
Kickoff
Classic,
is part
of DSC's
broader
push to
expand
girls'
sports
and
active
play
opportunities
across
the
region
through
its
Living
Legacy
Initiative
— a
program
that has
funneled
more
than $1
million
into the
local
community
since it
launched
alongside
the 2024
NFL
Draft.
Matchups
and
Details
This
year's
showcase,
supported
by the
Ralph C.
Wilson,
Jr.
Foundation
and
Amazon,
will
spotlight
regional
high
school
talent,
including
reigning
Michigan
High
School
Girls
Flag
Football
League
state
champions
St.
Joseph.
Both
games
are free
and open
to the
public.
7 p.m. —
L'Anse
Creuse
North
vs. St.
Joseph
8 p.m. —
Redford
Thurston
vs.
Gibraltar
Carlson
Community
and
Sponsor
Backing
Foundation
and
Amazon
officials
framed
the
event as
a
continuation
of
momentum
built
during
the 2024
NFL
Draft in
Detroit.
Kari
Pardo,
senior
program
officer
at the
Ralph C.
Wilson,
Jr.
Foundation,
said
sports
access
is
critical
to
girls'
"confidence,
connection
and
overall
development,"
while
Amazon's
Ian
Conyers,
head of
community
engagement,
said the
company
has seen
"firsthand
how
investing
in
Detroit's
youth...
creates
lasting
impact."
DSC
executive
director
Marty
Dobek
credited
the
Detroit
Lions
and the
Wilson
Foundation
for
fueling
the
rapid
growth
of high
school
girls'
flag
football
in
Michigan,
calling
the
showcase's
third-year
return
proof of
the
program's
staying
power.
Amazon,
the Prep
Kickoff
Classic's
title
sponsor
since
2024,
previously
donated
$300,000
in
community
grants
through
the
Amazon
Community
Fund
tied to
that
year's
NFL
Draft.
Additional
2026
APKC
sponsors
include
Meijer,
Dick's
Sporting
Goods,
DMC
Rehabilitation
Institute
of
Michigan,
Alta
Equipment
and the
United
Dairy
Industry
of
Michigan.
Youth
Clinic
Rounds
Out the
Day
Alongside
the
games,
participating
teams
and
local
youth
will
take
part in
a Girls
in
Sports
clinic
at Tom
Adams
Field,
featuring
partners
such as
DMC
Rehabilitation
Institute
of
Michigan,
the
Detroit
Lions,
Project
Play
Southeast
Michigan
and
Detroit
PAL.
Since
its
founding
in 2005,
the
Amazon
Prep
Kickoff
Classic
has
grown
into
Michigan's
premier
season-opening
high
school
football
showcase,
drawing
more
than 100
teams
annually
from
Michigan,
Indiana,
Illinois
and Ohio
for what
organizers
describe
as a
"bowl
game-like"
atmosphere
complete
with
marching
bands,
cheer
squads
and
packed
stands.
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