Photo and Coverage Policy
Photographs of players
We publish photographs and video from public games. This is ordinary sports journalism and it is what local newspapers have always done. If your daughter plays in a public game, she may appear in our coverage.
We do not photograph in locker rooms or other private areas, and we do not publish images of injuries or of an athlete in distress.
Names
This is where we are stricter than the standard.
We publish a player's name alongside her photograph only when her own parent or guardian gives us that name. We do not take names off a roster and attach them to faces.
Scores, results, and program history are published by team. A play can be credited to a school without naming anyone. Box scores submitted by coaches may include player names for records and statistics, which is how every scoreboard and stat sheet has always worked.
Honors
Our weekly honor is Play of the Week, not Player of the Week. We chose it that way on purpose. A play can be celebrated without identifying a child, and the credit can go to a team.
When an honor does require naming a specific athlete, such as an end-of-season all-state selection, we ask her coach to confirm her family is comfortable with the recognition before we publish it.
Comments, and who follows us
Accounts that cover girls' sports attract some followers nobody wants. We moderate our comments, we remove what does not belong and block the accounts that leave it, and we do not choose images to attract that kind of attention. Our photographs are about what an athlete did, not how she looks.
If you see something in our comments that should not be there, tell us and we will handle it.
What we never do
We never criticize a student athlete. Not her play, not a mistake, not in a caption, not in a recap, not anywhere. We celebrate or we say nothing.
We interview adults: coaches, athletic directors, organizers, and parents. We do not interview players.
If a result or a claim is ever disputed, we correct the record quietly. We do not attach a child's name to a dispute.
Photographs you send us
If you send us a photo, you are telling us that you took it or have the right to share it, and that we may publish it with credit. You choose the credit: your name, "a Founding Correspondent," or none.
You may name your own child in your caption. We remove the names of other children unless their own parents have sent them to us.
Removing something
If an image of your child appears anywhere on Flags Up Virginia and you want it gone, email hello@flagsupvirginia.com and we will remove it from the site and from our social accounts. You do not have to explain why. There is no form and no follow-up question, and this promise does not expire.
Advertising
Photographs of players are never used in advertising, sponsorship, merchandise, or anything else for sale. Sponsor content is clearly marked and never uses images from games. This line does not move.
Corrections
We correct errors visibly rather than editing them away. The Record Book only inscribes results a coach has confirmed, so corrections there should be rare, but we will make them when we are wrong.
Who to talk to
Flags Up Virginia is written and kept by Kellian Keefe in Richmond, Virginia. Anything sent to hello@flagsupvirginia.com reaches her directly.
Last updated August 9, 2026. This policy may be strengthened over time. It will not be weakened.