PA Minor Football Registration Starts
May 2, 2016 | 1:57 PM
Another busy spring season of Prince Albert Minor Football starts in just a few days! Non-contact programs are offered for ages 4 to 9, and tackle football programs are available for ages 10 to 17. All equipment is provided except cleats and water bottles! Both boys and girls can play, and new players are welcome at every level.
Our spring tackle programs are six-a-side football. This is an exciting variation of the game where everyone is eligible to carry the ball except the centre on offense. It’s half the players, but twice the fun! Each player will learn at least one position on both sides of the ball, offense and defense. Smaller roster sizes, maximum 20 players per team, allow for more one on one coaching time and more playing time, leading to faster, better player development. Two age levels are offered, age 10 to 12, and age 13 & 14.
Our registration and equipment fitting evening is this Sunday, May 1st at Crescent Heights Arena on Branion Drive, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The registration fee is $100.00, with a $250.00 equipment deposit also required. The deposit may be a cheque post-dated to the end of our spring season. Deposits are refunded when all equipment is returned at the end of the season. Practises are on Mondays and Wednesdays, with games on Thursdays, starting Monday May 2nd and continuing to late June. There will also be a jamboree, a type of round robin tournament, on a Saturday near the end of the program.
In partnership with our local high schools, a senior six-a-side program is offered for children in Grade 9, 10, and 11 (15 to 17 years old). The first practise for this program will be on Monday, May 2nd, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Max Clunie Field in Prime Ministers Park. Registration for this program is also $100.00. Players are expected to obtain equipment from their high schools. If a participant attends a school which does not have a football program, equipment can be obtained from PA Minor Football, with a deposit.
New this year, Hillside Physical Health and Fitness has partnered with the Prince Albert Minor Football Association to provide FREE baseline testing to all participants in our contact programs. These tests are used as a comparison point in the event of an injury to enable more accurate diagnosis of an injury, as well as be able to more efficiently treat any injury. This is a progressive, proactive step in maintaining the good health of all of PA Minor Football’s participants. We thank Anna Rybka and the staff at Hillside Physical Health and Fitness for providing this service.
Our non-contact Little Tykes program will start on Saturday, May 7th. Three levels are offered: age 4 &5, age 6 & 7, and age 8 & 9. Little Tykes uses non-competive games and drills to teach basic non-contact football skills. There is a maximum of 40 paricipants per age group. Registration is just $30.00. All sessions take place at CrescentHeights Arena on Saturday mornings in May and June. This is one of the most popular PA Minor Football programs. There are only three spots left in the age 4&5 group! Both the age 6 & 7 and age 8 & 9 groups are FULL.
For more information and for online registration, visit www.pariverriders.com.
Our fall programs will begin in late August. New this year, by popular demand, there will be a six-a-side tackle program for ages 9 and 10. All practises and games will be at Crescent Heights Arena. As with all of our other tackle programs, all equipment will be provided except cleats and water bottles, and all players will get a FREE baseline test from Hillside Physical Health & Fitness. Practises will follow the Pee Wee and Bantam schedule, on Tuesday and Fiday evenings, and Saturday mornings.
We will have Pee Wee (age 11 & 12) and Bantam (Age 13 & 14) River Riders 12-player teams in the fall. These teams play in the Kinsmen Football League, which consists of 7 teams in Saskatoon, as well as teams in Martensville, North Battleford, and Prince Albert. Practises are on Tuesday and Friday evenings, and Saturday mornings at Crescent Heights Arena. Eight games are played in the season. Our four home games are played on Max Clunie Field in Prime Ministers Park, usually on Sunday afternoons, The four away games are usually played on Wednesday nights in Saskatoon, either at the SaskTel Sports Centre near Attridge Drive, or at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the former Gordie Howe Bowl, on Avenue P South. Games against Martensville and North Battleford alternate locations- one year they’re in PA, the next, Prince Albert visits them.
In late September or early October, PA Minor Football will host a FREE Pass, Punt & Kick competition open to boys and girls from age 9 to 14. Participants could WIN an expenses paid trip to the final regular season Roughrider game ever at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field! Participants are divided into three age groups: age 10 & under, age 12 & under, and age 14 & under, with boys and girls divisions in each age group. The Pass, Punt and Kick competiton has been promoting basic football skills in the province of Saskatchewan for over 40 years. It is sponsored by SaskTel, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Football Saskatchewan.
Traditionally, the competition has been held through elementary and high schools as an extracurricular physical education option. Prince Albert Minor Football encourages all physical education teachers in the Prince Albert area to continue this tradition in their school, or re-instate the tradition as may be the case for some schools.
The PAMF Pass Punt and Kick competition is intended as a complement to the competitions taking place in our schools, not to replace them. The PAMF competition is intended for students who attend schools that have elected not to have a competition of their own. Winners of the PAMF and school competitions advance to a regional final, which will also be held in Prince Albert in mid-October. Regional winners advance to the Provincial Final in Saskatoon. Eighteen provincial winners will receive expenses paid trips to the last regular season Roughrider game of 2016, and will be presented with plaques during the pre-game ceremony.
Online registration is already open for all PA Minor Football programs. For more information and to register your child, visit www.pariverriders.com TODAY!
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