FOOTBALL OVERVIEWPop Warner football has been around since the inception of the league in 1929 by founder Joseph J. Tomlin as a four-team conference in Northeast Philadelphia. Since then, participation has steadily increased to today's record numbers. Over 240,000 youths participated in Pop Warner-sanctioned football programs in 2004, and those numbers are continuing to grow. SAFETY FIRST Kids compete with kids of similar age. Did you know that Pop Warner football is safer than soccer? Pop Warner football has 12% fewer injuries per capita among 5-15 year olds than organized soccer in the same age range! (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, THERE ARE NO PERSONAL STATISTICS Pop Warner exists to use football, cheerleading, dance and a respect for education to develop strong, smart, responsible, healthy young men and women. We give them experiences that build their appreciation for and understanding of leadership, teamwork, and discipline.While individual statistics may be more common, particularly among older football players, Pop Warner only recognizes the athletic accomplishments of the team, not the individual. We don't track personal tallies of touchdowns or yards rushing per game. We don't count sacks or blocked kicks. We applaud the athletic efforts of the team to reinforce the importance of teamwork, with each member.We don't try to build stars. We don't want to over-inflate a young ego, nor do we want to risk injuring the self-esteem of a young person. Whether our kids have good days or bad, they are still an integral part of our team…and always will be.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------GETTING TO THE POP WARNER SUPER BOWL
The road to the National Championship is a long one for the football players, cheerleaders and dancers of the Pop Warner Little Scholars program.Players begin practicing on August 1 in preparation for their season openers, usually held during the last week in August or first week in September. A participant can be considered eligible for the season when he/she has met the four basic criteria for participation: A candidate must provide proof of age, parental consent, a medical examination, and academic fitness.What makes Pop Warner unique as an organization is our commitment to academic excellence among our participants. A participant must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average/70 percent in school in order to participate during the season.If a child doesn’t reach the 2.0/70% requirement, a Scholastic Eligibility Form is filled out by that child’s school to determine whether or not the PWLS program is beneficial for him/her. Once this is determined, the child’s grades are monitored throughout the season. Our objective is to build sound minds and bodies for our leaders of tomorrow.A football team plays a 7 to 9 game schedule and at the end of the regular season, usually during the last week in October, a team prepares for league playoffs. Playoff games are only for the 8U - 9U - 10U - 11U - 12U - 13U - 14U levels. Once a league champion has been decided and a team has won the right to participate in regional championships, all report cards are verified to ensure that all the players are academically eligible. Those teams that win at  regional championships are invited to compete for a National Championship in their division. The National Championships are held at the Camp World Stadium in Orlando Florida.

CHEERLEADING AND DANCE OVERVIEWCheerleading was officially recognized in the 1970's, but has been a part of the Pop Warner program for several decades. The first ever National Cheerleading competition was held in DeKalb County, GA. Today, 160,000 children are participating in cheerleading and dance around the United States.Participation in the Pop Warner Spirit Program provides kids an opportunity to perform in an organized, supervised, safety-oriented environment. Pop Warner programs emphasize fun for all and encourage the development of qualities important long after Pop Warner days are gone.The Spirit Program is growing in numbers each year due to the popularity of the sport. In an effort to keep pace with the many new changes in the cheer & dance industry, there are a few basic rules that are unique to Pop Warner Spirit Squads.THE ROAD TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPSFor a cheerleading or dance squad, the difficult road to the national championship is quite similar to that of the football teams’. A spirit squad will showcase their best (2:30) two minute and thirty second routine complete with music and cheering at a league championship level. The top 2 squads advance to regional competition in each Small, Medium and Large category. At regional competition, a spirit squad will again perform their top (2:30) two-minute and thirty second routine in hopes of winning. The first and second place squads in the region in each Small ,Medium and Large category,have won the right to perform at Orange County Convention Center in hopes of winning a national championship for their local association.The participants in the Pop Warner program are unique as opposed to those of other programs. While they are taught about the values of competition, they are also maintaining their grades at a satisfactory level in order to attain the ultimate prize of being named a Pop Warner National Champion. We salute all the efforts and accomplishments that our participants put forward! Squads compete during the Pop Warner playing season from August 1st through December 31st.2. Year-Round Spirit - The year-round season begins January 1st and ends July 31st. A Year-Round squad must compete in one competition from January 1st to July 31st. *Note: Year-Round Cheer Medical and Registration due by February 1st* Tryouts of any kind within Pop Warner are prohibited.The ages of all spirit participants in the program shall correspond to the overall ages that the League is permitting for players, unless League rules dictate that the ages of the spirit squad shall correspond to the playing ages of the team with which they are associated.CHEERLEADING AND DANCE DIVISIONCHEERLEADING SAFETYCourtesy of the National Athletic Trainers’ AssociationSafety First! is the latest of a number of safety initiatives that Cheerleading's governing bodies have implemented in past years. The results show, among other things, that cheer's total catastrophic injuries were cut in half from 2005 to 2006*, and that cheerleading's injuries per 100,000 participants is only 2.0, significantly less than the figures for popular women's sports such as gymnastics.Below are some tips compiled by the NATA that help reduce cheerleader injuries at all levels:    Proper Conditioning:  Physically prepare and maintain your body’s strength, flexibility, and stamina for stunting and tumbling.   Strengthen your core muscles (abdominal and lower back muscles) along with the upper and lower body and include aerobic (running, jogging, cycling, swimming) and anaerobic (wind sprints, circuit training) activities.    Exercise Reminders:  Warm up, stretch and cool down for every practice or competition and be sure to rest.    Proper Equipment:  Practice on mats or padded flooring until your routines are perfected.  Make sure the mats are adequately sized and sufficient for the activities you’re performing.    Spotting:  Have trained spotters present and engaged at all times.    Knowledgeable Coaches:  Make sure your coaches are certified in safety, first aid, CPR and AED use.    No Horseplay:  Focus at all times during stunting and tumbling activities.    Communication:  Request that your coaches review safety precautions, rules and regulations with the squad on a regular basis, and that they establish and implement an emergency action plan.