Helmets. Check. Shoulder pads. Check. Mouth guards. Check.
Hustle. Check. Having fun. Check.
The Prince George Minor Football Association's fall tackle teams kick off practice tonight on the lower fields at Prince George secondary school.
And if the PGMFA's fun skills camp Saturday on those same fields was any indication of the growing interest in the sport, the season that launches in early September should be a successful one.
"It [the camp] went really well," said PGMFA registrar Karen Vohar, adding a few girls are also picking up the pigskin. "We had 40 kids right off the start and by noon we had 55. By the time the season begins, we should have closer to 80 kids. A third of them, about 30 per cent, were new faces."
Half-a-dozen of those new faces were those who attended the PGMFA's youth flag football camp in March at the Northern Sport Centre. The camp featured 51 under-10 to U-18 players learning from B.C. Lions pros Courtney Taylor and Solomon Elimimian.
The fall tackle league takes to the trenches Sept. 6 with a jamboree at Masich Place Stadium where, besides Prince George, teams from Williams Lake and Quesnel will line up against each other.
Like last season, four atom teams (ages seven to nine) from Prince George are expected to suit up along with squads from Quesnel, Vanderhoof and Williams Lake.
Two peewee (ages 10 to 11) teams and a junior bantam (12 to 13) squad round out the Prince George contingent.
"We're adding an atom team from Williams Lake, their coach attended the skills camp," said Vohar. "It's huge, it's just really awesome along with the peewee and junior bantam teams."
During the season, two games will be played simultaneously (last season, only one game was played at a time). Atoms and peewees will play two-hour games in accordance with Football B.C. guidelines.
It's not too late for youth to register to play tackle football this season. Practices are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call 250-613-3688 or email pgfmaregistrar@gmail.com or go online to www.pgmfa.com.
