When spring semester inevitably rolls around, there is a football-sized hole in the heart of the Claremont Colleges. But with the recent addition of Womxn’s Club Flag Football, football season is now every season at the 5Cs.
The team — whose inception follows the growing emergence of women’s flag football leagues on the collegiate and professional level — includes athletes from all backgrounds of club sport experience. Together, they aim to foster an inclusive environment and build a program that will last for years to come.
Starting from scratch hasn’t been easy for the club. Although they faced a tough 40-0 loss in their first game against Saddleback College on March 9, coach Sam Winston CM ’25 described how the athletes are making great progress on the field compared to preseason.
“At the beginning of the season, I definitely had to take a step back and focus on [coaching] the basics, but they’ve been picking up a lot more stuff recently, and I’ve been able to make the plays more intensive,” Winston said.
For captain and quarterback Ainona Black-Planas PZ ’25, any progress is significant for the team. Black-Planas described how, despite the tough start, players have made great strides throughout their first season.
“Every single person is new to flag football on the team, myself included,” Black-Planas said. “The first few practices we had, no one knew how to catch a ball. We’ve seen exponential improvement in every individual and the team as a whole.”
Womxn’s flag football is entirely student-run, boasting student captains and a student head coach. Having played for Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) football for two and a half years at the start of college, Winston jumped at the opportunity to use his skills to coach flag football.
“I had to stop playing [football] due to injuries,” Winston said. “I’ve always been trying to find a way to get back into the realm of football, I played it for eight years of my life.”
Similar to Winston, flag football also allows snapper and linebacker Lily Camp SC ’27 to reconnect with sports after taking time off in high school while still making time for academics.
“I had missed playing sports in general, and I feel like all of the sports teams at the 5Cs were way too much of a commitment,” Camp said. “When I joined flag football, [the first few practices] were really fun — it was kind of just a bunch of people goofing around and learning the basics.”
While club flag football presents an opportunity for athletes to pursue sports with a less rigid practice schedule, Black-Planas described how this also creates a unique challenge in fostering engagement.
“Club sports have an interesting dynamic of trying to build commitment and a team, while also acknowledging that it’s not going to be anyone’s top priority,” Black-Planas said.
One of the team’s greatest challenges so far has been trying to maintain that commitment. After seeing lots of interest during the fall preseason, the team lost significant numbers once official practice began in the spring.
“Getting commitment from players was definitely challenging at the beginning, and I think we’ve also had, over the course of the semester, a few players [lose interest],” Black-Planas said. “Nobody who joins this team is really familiar with the sport to begin with, so it’s not really something that they’re tied to.”
While unfamiliarity with the sport may contribute to lower numbers, it also creates a bond between athletes who share in learning something new. Camp described how, despite being new to flag football, she felt supported by her teammates who shared similar experiences.
“[Having mixed abilities] makes you feel comfortable if you don’t have a lot of experience,” Camp said. “I feel like it just makes the environment a lot more welcoming and inclusive.”
For Black-Planas, seeing athletes come together over a new sport has been inspiring and unexpected.
“I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with how people have embraced knowing absolutely nothing, and just kind of diving head first into it,” Black-Planas said. “That was something I didn’t really expect to see. All of us are kind of learning the sport together.”
5C Womxn’s Flag Football isn’t alone in navigating the challenges of competing in a newly developing sport. Winston describes how flag football is gaining momentum across colleges.
“It’s not just our first year in this league,” Winston said. “All the teams in our league, it’s their first year as well. I feel like it’s emerging more, and I hope it continues to.”
Womxn’s Flag Football will face off against schools including Arizona State University and Cal Lutheran in their first tournament of the season the weekend of Saturday, March 29.
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