“Down, set, hike!” When we think of Powderpuff, the image that comes to mind is a group of girls from the same grade decked out in eyeblack and matching jerseys. They’re listening to the play call in the huddle before they sprint out on the field to give their all against a rival team in a sport that they’ve never competed in. On the sidelines, their teammates are screaming, “Go Wayland!”

Since we were freshmen, it’s an image that we’ve always been picturing. Now as seniors, we finally have the chance to make it a reality. For us, the spirit, grade bonding and excitement of trying a new sport finally have been passed down into our hands.

While some schools like WHS choose to play against other schools, some like Newton South High School and Natick High School host junior-senior games for their girls. Regardless of the opponent, Powderpuff football is a tradition that girls and boys alike look forward to each year.

Unfortunately, many schools have become weary about this pre-Thanksgiving day game, and some, such as Newton South High School, have decided to cancel it entirely. “In terms of gender politics, the name ‘powderpuff,’ which most students still call the game, inadvertently serves to mock the hard-fought struggles of female athletes to be taken seriously and, we think, perpetuates negative stereotypes about femininity and female athletes,” Newton South Principal Joel Stembridge said in a newsletter to parents. “Our young women’s athletic achievements deserve to be taken more seriously.”

Even at Weston, WHS’s rival school, there were concerns earlier this year about whether or not the Powderpuff game is too dangerous to continue.

As two members of the team who have been practicing for the last few weeks, we disagree with both Stembridge and those who think that the game isn’t safe. We think that Powderpuff should continue because it’s not sexist, it is no more dangerous than other sports and is a community-building game that creates spirit and excitement throughout the school.

Going back to Stembridge’s letter: Powderpuff mocks female athletes? How about the fact that there is no girls’ football team in the first place? If a girl wants to play football with their peers, isn’t it sexist to stop them? If the issue is presenting girls as less than boys, then it would be more effective to create a girls’ football team to give them an equal opportunity in the first place.

That being said, we’re not asking for a new girls’ football team that plays an entire season. There are some sports that boys commonly play and girls usually do not such as football and wrestling. The opposite is true for field hockey, which is primarily a girls’ sport. Powderpuff serves the purpose of letting girls explore football when it would otherwise be hard for them to do so.

Some people who believe that Powderpuff is sexist point to the fact that the game is flag football and there are no pads or helmets used, inherently suggesting that girls still can’t play a sport to the intensity that boys do. But let’s be practical. A lot of the equipment the boys use wouldn’t fit the girls. The helmets would have to be refitted and cleared by the athletic trainer. Is it worth buying new padding and helmets for just one game? That’s why flag football is a sensible way for girls to experience football through the powderpuff game.

In terms of safety, it’s true that people are going to play hard. When two rival schools or grades square off in a game of football, it’s naive to trust that all the girls are going to play 100% cleanly. Because most girls only have one shot to win, both teams are going to play their hardest. This sometimes results in tackles or pushes that may not be allowed in a typical flag football game. Some schools point to this risk as a reason to stop the game, but there’s risk in every sport.

Athletes get injured all the time. There are slide tackles in soccer, swinging elbows in basketball, pushes and shoves in ice hockey and some other form of physicality in almost any contact sport. When a girl in flag football does tackle too hard, the referees will almost always call a penalty on that team, which keeps the aggression in check.

In reality, sure, people might get hurt. Yes, people have gotten hurt in the past. But if a soccer player broke her leg because someone slide tackled her, would the school cancel the soccer program? We don’t think so.

The girls who are playing Powderpuff do so voluntarily. No senior is forced to play, so only those who are comfortable with the risk sign up. That’s why for us, the safety argument against Powderpuff isn’t quite valid.

Finally, Powderpuff brings the girls who choose to play together. In Powderpuff, athletes and non-athletes play together. We’ve gotten to spend time with people who we almost never see at school.

Powderpuff provides a unique bonding experience that raises school spirit and pride. We know that when game time comes on Wednesday afternoon, we’ll be competing in one of the highlights of senior year with the rest of our peers. Powderpuff has been a tradition at Wayland for as long as we can remember, and it should stay that way for the years to come.

Check out the contrasting opinion.