A DESIRE TO TACKLE: ARE FEMALE FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO INDICATE THEY WOULD PARTICIPATE IN TACKLE FOOTBALL MORE LIKELY TO HAVE AN IN SEASON INJURY?

PURPOSE: Youth participation in flag football has increased by 39% over the last three years. The etiology undergirding the rise in popularity is likely multifaceted, with a large portion attributable to the sport’s overall perception as a “safer alternative” to tackle football. Given tackle football’s more dangerous reputation, the purpose of our study was to determine if female flag football athletes who reported they would participate in tackle football had increased odds of an in-season injury compared to those who reported they would not participate in tackle football. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of female high school flag football athletes. Participants underwent a pre-season assessment, followed by weekly surveys asking about time-loss injuries sustained and sport participation during the flag football season. Participants were grouped based on whether they indicated they would or would not participate in tackle football if given the opportunity at their initial evaluation (yes vs. no). Chi-square analyses were used to compare the proportion of those who sustained a sport-related injury between groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds of an injury between groups, adjusting for self-reported perception of injury risk, age, height, and weight. RESULTS: 81 flag football athletes completed pre-season testing and weekly injury monitoring. A majority (n = 55, 68%) indicated they would participate in tackle football if it were available to them. A greater proportion of players reporting they would play tackle football reported an in-season time-loss injury, although this was not statistically significant (27% vs 12%, p = 0.11). After covariate adjustment, the desire to participate in tackle football was not significantly associated with sport-related time-loss injury during the flag football season (OR = 2.60 [0.67, 10.2], p = 0.17). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest, that while statistically insignificant, there may be a relationship between a desire to play tackle football and in-season injuries among female flag football athletes. This finding provides insight into how an athlete’s willingness to engage in riskier behavior associated with injury—like playing tackle football—may impact the risk for sustaining a time loss injury in sport. Denver Broncos Foundation