Flag Football Mail-In Registration Starts

Mail-in registration for the Sunland Recreation Center’s fall flag football league starts today.

Parents who wish to register 7- to 12-year-old boys and girls can telephone the center and request league organizers send them a form, which parents can complete and return by mail. Walk-in registration starts Sept. 11.

In addition, league planners seek individuals who wish to coach a flag football team, said Greg Perkins, senior director of the center.

Flag football is based on the same rules as regular football except players pull strips of material from other players’ waistbands, in lieu of tackling.

Boys and girls play the game together in the Sunland league, which Perkins described as a program focused on skill building, not physical contact.

“The one thing I’d like to emphasize is the approach,” Perkins said. “Flag football has more of an emphasis on finesse than it does the contact of, say, tackle football. I wouldn’t be too concerned about it as a mother or father.”

Planners split the league into three divisions--Pee Wee, for children born from 1989 to 1992; Minor, for children born in 1987 or 1988; and Major, for children born in 1985 or 1986.

A registration fee of $50 covers the cost of uniform, mouthpiece, trophy and referees, Perkins said.

He said participants must attend a skills evaluation on Sept. 12. to help organizers create evenly-matched teams. Games, played at Sunland Park, start Sept. 26.

The recreation center is at 8651 Foothill Blvd. For more information, call (818) 352-5282.