Powderpuff (sports)

[1] One of the first well-documented powderpuff football games was played on October 20, 1945, at Eastern State Teachers College, in Madison, South Dakota.

[2] Eastern State Teachers College had previously cancelled many campus activities for the duration of World War II.

[3] With the signing of the unconditional surrender by Japan on September 2, 1945, the war officially came to an end, Homecoming was once again on the schedule at Eastern State Teachers College.

A traditional football game seemed out of the question since due to the wartime military draft, just 3 men had enrolled for the fall term that year.

[2] "A bunch of us were sitting around after gym class and we thought, if we’re going to have Homecoming, we've got to have a football game," said Susie Lowry, who was a freshman at Eastern in 1945.

[5] "A fairly large group of spectators showed great interest and enthusiasm during the game," according to The Eastern, the campus newspaper.

[5] The name was suggested because the women chose to poke fun at themselves by staying on the field at halftime and putting on fresh makeup before the amused spectators.

Judy Samaha, a physical education teacher and coach for Mark T. Sheehan High School, began the sport to incorporate more girls into athletic activities.

The game has received considerable publicity which included feature articles in The Washington Post and local TV stations and has raised over $500,000 in the national capital area.

Teachers and parents alike have criticized the games for "demeaning women's athletic ability", citing how the name implies that girls are fragile and only fit to play flag football.

[10] Powderpuff games have also come under fire for encouraging violence between peers, especially at some schools where junior girls are subject to hazing by the senior class.