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The Friends Schools League

George School is part of the Friends School League (FSL), a group of nine different independent schools outside of Philadelphia who share a common outlook on sports as opportunities for personal and athletic growth.

The league was established in 1981 with George School’s own Anne LeDuc as one of the founders. The other eight schools include Abington Friends, The Academy of the New Church, Friend’s Central, Friends Select, Germantown Friends School, Moorestown Friends, The Shipley School, and Westtown.

The league draws its principles from a Quaker vision of community and shared values. It is a place for growth, learning, and competition—friendly competition, that is. Students in the league are encouraged to grow not only as athletes but also as people. Respect for athletes of all abilities and stages of development is essential.

Community is the central value of the FSL. This goes hand in hand with an atmosphere of respect. The league is guided by the Friends values of seeking understanding and resolution, as well as sharing the responsibility of all successes.

Learn more at the Friends Schools League website.

 

Our Young Alumni

Whether in class or on the field or the court, Lauren learns much from faculty and staff members who are mentors, too.

FSL Sportsmanship Guidelines

Promoting sportsmanship is a high priority for the Friends Schools League. We expect that our athletes, coaches, and supporters on the stands will all lead by example both on and off of the field. The League does not permit any inappropriate language, gestures, physical contact, or social media posts.  Mastering self-control is important for every student athlete, whether they win or lose.

Specifically, the FSL has the following expectations for all involved in its athletic contests:

  • Accept the responsibility and privilege of representing school, community, and League.
  • Live up to the high standards of sportsmanship established by the League.
  • Make sportsmanship the number one priority.
  • Be a good role model.
  • Support your team in a positive manner.
  • Always interact positively with the other team and its fans.
  • Treat opponents, their fans, and officials with respect.
  • Shake hands with opponents at the end of the competition.
  • Search out opponents and recognize them for outstanding performances.
  • Abide by the rules of the competition to conduct a fair contest.
  • Play within the spirit of the game.
  • Social media should be used in a responsible, positive, and respectful way.

Equity and Inclusion

To express our commitment to combating racism, inequities, and injustices within the Friends Schools League, the FSL formed a structure for action, empowerment, and accountability through our shared platform. The Athletic Directors of the member institutions—in partnership with DEI Directors and Heads of School—recognize the responsibility and unique opportunity before us to enhance the experiences of every athlete, coach, official, and supporter that comes into contact with the FSL.

Our work will be prioritized through the efforts of five separate subcommittees. The areas of focus for the subcommittees are; student engagement, internship programming, and community outreach, support for the advancement of coaches of color, bias incident reporting and accountability, and professional development. Each subcommittee is clerked by an FSL Athletic Director and includes the guidance of DEI Directors from our respective institutions. A steering committee exists to help maintain the overall vision of the league by coordinating collaboration among the five subcommittees.

Please review our October Equity and Inclusion Report to learn more details about the purpose and work of each subcommittee.

In addition to the work outlined in the report, we will partner with Positive Coaching Alliance for a set of six coaches’ workshops over the next two years in their Sports Can Battle Racism program. We will begin our league-wide partnership with PCA in January 2021.

In the coming days, a survey will be shared with student-athletes and coaches seeking feedback regarding their experiences with incidents of bias in sports. We feel that sharing this survey will help us gather important data that will inform our ongoing work.

We are excited to begin this necessary and meaningful work within our league, school communities, and beyond.