It’s been a long 12 months for football enthusiasts and participants in Prince Albert as the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to any activities.
The long wait to return to the gridiron is about to come to an end as the Prince Albert Minor Football Association has announced their plans to start their spring season on Saturday, May 1.
“After the last year, I think people are looking for signs that we are getting back to some sense of normalcy,” Prince Albert Minor Football Association president Taras Kachkowski said on Tuesday.
“I think with us getting back on the field here to the extent that we can, that’s just one step towards getting back to normal.”
The little tykes program, which is for boys and girls in Grade 1 to 4, will start on May 1 and will run on Saturdays until June 12.
The spring six-a-side football program for pee wee (Grades 5 and 6) and bantam (Grades 7 and 8) divisions will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from May 3 to June 16.
The high school program will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from May 4 to June 10.
All three programs will take place at the Crescent Heights Arena Field.
“Obviously, things will be a lot different with the COVID restrictions and protocols that are in place, which are being strictly followed,” Kachkowski said. “Our group sizes will be limited and the focus of all our programs will be towards individual skill development.
“We had our annual general meeting a short while ago and then our board has been texting and e-mailing each other about the restrictions and recommendations, and what we can do to follow to them. We’ve come up with a plan that follows all of the guidelines and we’re excited to get back going.”
In a normal season, local teams would play against squads from Warman and Saskatoon to wrap up the year, but that isn’t in the cards for this spring.
“We’re hoping that if the restrictions are loosened by the middle of June, we’ll be able to have scrimmages amongst ourselves for the older programs,” Kachkowski said.
“It’s a wait-and-see approach right now for that, along with our fall season. We’re hoping that as the vaccination program rolls out and things start to slowly get back to normal, our fall season will be able to progress like it has in the past.”
Registration fees and forms for the spring programs can be found on Prince Albert Minor Football’s website at pariverriders.com
