Every Sarasota County student-athlete and Friday-night football fan will see changes when the 2026-27 school year opens in August. The district announced four athletics overhauls July 19, covering ticketing, pricing, new sports programs and mandatory heart screenings.
District moves all ticket sales to digital-only payment
All athletic event tickets across the district will be sold digitally through GoFan, the FHSAA's official ticketing platform. Fans can buy in advance at GoFan.co or pay at the gate with a QR code, tap-to-pay, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No more cash lines.
General admission to high school events is set at $8. Varsity football stays at $10. Middle school games will cost $5.
Girls flag football set to launch at all five high schools in 2027
Girls flag football will launch at all traditional public high schools in Sarasota County in spring 2027, the district's first season offering the sport. That includes Sarasota High, Riverview High, Booker High, Venice High and North Port High, according to the district's school listings.
The timing aligns with a statewide push. The FHSAA finalized spring sport classifications for 2026-27 on July 17 and approved an Open Division for girls flag football championships at its June 2026 board meeting. FHSAA Executive Director Craig Damon called the addition "an exciting step forward for high school athletics in the state of Florida" when the board voted.
Middle schools adding soccer this fall, flag football next spring
Middle school students gain two new programs: boys and girls soccer starts in fall 2026, with boys and girls flag football following in spring 2027.
New state law requires $20 heart screenings for all athletes
Florida's Second Chance Act, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2025, requires every high school athlete in grades 9-12 to complete an ECG screening before tryouts or practices begin. The law took effect July 1, 2026, making Florida the first state to mandate the test for student-athletes, according to Bay News 9 reporting.
Sarasota County Schools says it will offer screenings through its partnership with Who We Play For, a nonprofit founded after a high school soccer player died from sudden cardiac arrest in 2007. Screenings cost $20, well below the law's $50 cap, and financial assistance is available for qualifying families. Each ECG is read by a pediatric cardiologist on the nonprofit's medical advisory team, with results returned by email within 10 business days.
Who We Play For reports that 1 in 300 youths has a detectable, potentially life-threatening heart condition.
What's next
Families can purchase GoFan tickets at GoFan.co once the fall sports schedule is posted. Girls flag football tryouts begin in spring 2027.
