Welcome! We are excited that you have the courage to and are interested in joining our Lions Pride.

Registration should be completed online and payment made in full.
(Email: [email protected] for any questions)

Registration Fees for the 2026 season (Age as of July 14, 2026):
All Division (Age 5-12) - $200
Early Bird Special - $125 (Register by May 31st)  Login/Register

Registration fees include competition top and bottom, competition bow, coaching equipment, insurance, league fees collected by Pop Warner, contribution towards the cost of indoor practice facilities, cheer mats, competition music and other administrative operating expenses. All Competition Uniforms belong to the Wilmington Lions United organization and will need to be returned at the conclusion of the season. Cost of  cleaning or replacing any damaged or stained competition uniform will be the responsibility of the parent/guardian . 
Mandatory Game Day package cost is an additional $50 and will include game day cheer shirt, shorts, socks, and game day bows.
Cheer shoes will need to be provided as well. (Estimated cost of cheer shoes is $50 and more info will be given on cheer shoes specifics)

Practice attire will be any athletic shorts and shirts. Specific t-shirt colors for specific practice days will be determined for uniformity purposes. 

Required Equipment:
Each player will need appropriate athletic shoes for practice.

Forms:
The following documents must be uploaded for your registration to be complete and the player added to a team roster:
Copy of player’s birth certificate, state ID, or passport
Copy of player’s year end (Q4) report card (can be uploaded once received in June)

Practices:
Practices start July 15th and we are currently working on practice field location. Teams can practice up to 10 hours per week before traditional school starts at which time it drops to 6 hours per week. Practices generally run 6-8 pm unless otherwise communicated by the coach.  Athletes are required to complete a minimum of 20 hours of conditioning without and with pads to become eligible for scrimmage or game play.  

Games:
Games are held on Saturdays, and we are currently working on our home field location and will announce that as soon as we know more. Away games can be held at various other athletic fields around New Hanover and surrounding counties. Game schedules are generated by Pop Warner and are typically provided in August. The annual jamboree kicks off our regular season (tentatively scheduled for August 22nd) which runs through October. Competitive level teams can qualify for regional, national and post season bowl games well into November and December.‼️

Regionals and Nationals
Regional Competition will be held in Myrtle Beach, SC this year (November 8th, 2026).  Teams must qualify for Regionals to participate at the regional competition.  Teams that win at the regional competition will be given the opportunity to compete for the prestigious honor of winning a National Championship. 

The National Championship will once again be held in Charlotte, NC (December 5th -12th, 2026).  This event will require a multiple day commitment as this will involve multiple hotel stays at the dates mentioned.  Paperwork will be given to all participants, helping to provide teachers and school officials of this exciting achievement and the reason of the absences the participants will incur during this week of competition and festivities.   

Please keep in mind that, in the event that one of our Lion's cheer teams qualify for regionals or make it to nationals, there will be regional and national fees, travel fees, and hotel fees that each participate of that team will be required to pay.  We will be conducting various fundraisers throughout the season to help minimize these fees and we are asking all of our parents to participate in these fundraisers as they come up.  More information will be given throughout the season in regard to these fundraisers and ways that parent participation will be needed.  Ultimately, we want to make sure that we are prepared and ready financially, so that finances is not an obstacle preventing our Lions teams from competing at the Regional of National level.
 
Game Changer:
Please go to the app store on your phone and download "Game Changer" if you have not already done so. This is the current communication platform each coach will be using to communicate information through out the 2026 season.  Coaches will make sure you get registered and connected with the team on Game Changer at the beginning of the Fall season. 

Interested in volunteering?
Please email us expressing areas of interest. There is nothing more fulfilling than building relationships with the youth in our community and watching them explore their athletic interest while instilling strong values of respect, teamwork, sportsmanship, and sense of community.      

We look forward to meeting you and adding more Lions to the Pride!