Credit: Emma Alongi

Seniors participating in the powderpuff game gather around in a huddle during a powderpuff practice. “My favorite part about Powderpuff has definitely been how lots of different people have gotten to come together and create memories together while we enjoy the competition,” Weston High School senior Anika Groff said.

The annual Wayland versus Weston powderpuff flag football game is a long-standing tradition between the two schools. This year, Wayland High School administration is not permitting the game to take place on the high school’s turf as a school sanctioned game.

On Oct. 23, some WHS seniors participating in powderpuff spoke at a town meeting advocating for WHS to host this year’s powderpuff.

“[WHS Principal Allyson Mizoguchi and former Weston High School Principal Paul Peri] sent out an email in 2022 when they last hosted the event,” senior Emma Alongi said. “There are some concerns from boys and girls about safety because there [has been] injuries. We get why [the administration] doesn’t want to be involved, but if they were, we would love and welcome their involvement just to make the event safer.”

Traditionally, senior girls play the game while senior football players take on the roles of coaches. The event usually takes place on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving break, so this year powderpuff will be held on Nov. 27. Typically, the respective schools take turns hosting the games on their school campus each year.

“We think that [almost] all of these girls [who are] signing up are athletes,” Alongi said. “We understand where they’re coming from. We are all athletes, [and] we can get injured in any practice, any game.”

This year, the students will be playing for the Jimmy Fund, and have a goal of raising $7,500. Students participating in the event will also need to raise money to cover insurance, scoreboard and field costs since the event is not school sanctioned.

“I just hope [WHS hosting powderpuff is] going to happen,” senior Aidan Shapley said. “It’s a really great opportunity and I hope other grades won’t have to struggle like we did.”

In past years, athletes playing in powderpuff have suffered injuries resulting in concern from the administration. Since powderpuff is coached by senior boys, there is no official adult chaperone overseeing when athletes practice for powderpuff.

“There have been season ending injuries [during powderpuff],” Mizoguchi said. “If you talk to some of our coaches of female winter and spring sports here at the high school, they are not in favor of powder puff either because they know that [playing powderpuff] could end athletes’ winter and spring seasons that they were looking forward to coaching later in the school year. [Athletes playing powderpuff] could end up being injured and having to forgo their season and that has happened before.”

To reduce a risk of injuries ending student’s athletic-seasons, WHS administration and Wayland’s recreation department have explored having an official flag football team with adult coaches. Powderpuff isn’t an official athletic team, so they do not have the same medical clearance as other teams.

“There’s been some statements and interest by the MIAA [to make a flag football team for powderpuff] around this, so it’s been one proposed idea that we could explore, and I would be very happy to,” Mizoguchi said. “With that [said], it would be like any other sport where the student athletes are medically cleared. There [would be] a formal practice schedule [as well as being] overseen and coached by qualified adults.”

Since WHS hasn’t agreed to work alongside the seniors in hosting powderpuff, seniors had to resort to a different approach of playing on the turf in the game against Weston. Athletes participating in powderpuff have to sign waivers so that no one is held liable in the event of an injury.

“We’re going to do waivers to make sure that nobody is held liable for any injury and then get sued,” Alongi said. “So, once we get the permit we then have to get insurance, but if the school is involved, we don’t have to do any of that because they are the owners of the turf.”

Weston High School senior Anika Groff and Alongi are organizing powderpuff and hope for the game to be safe. Organizers of the event hope that it can be an enjoyable experience for those who partake.

“We just would love it [if WHS sponsored powderpuff]. It would make the event really safe and really fun, and we would love the support from them [WHS administration],” Alongi said.