Palatine Amateur Football Association

 

The Palatine Amateur Football Association, also known as PAFA, Is an organized, full-contact youth travel football program. It's for children in grades 3 through 8 (Ages 8 to 14 as of September 1 of current year). The PAFA teams play other communities in the North West Youth Football League (NWYFL). The Panthers play the Arlington Heights Cowboys, the Elk Grove Village Chiefs, the Mt Prospect Lions, and the Schaumburg Vikings. In 2010, the league created an Alliance partnership with the Bill George Youth Football league in order to eliminate unwanted bye weeks and do away with playing teams multiple times.

 

 

The season begins with late afternoon practices, Monday through Friday, typically starting the first Monday in August. Once school begins, practices are held 3 Days a week after school. There are both home and away Games. Games are on Saturday and limited Sundays. Regular season games typically start in late August and go through October. Playoff and championship games are played in early November.

 

 

Although every effort is made to accommodate each and every child wanting to participate in PAFA, the number of participants is limited. This is primarily due to the number of qualified coaches, equipment and availability of practice fields. We use the following priority selection criteria for acceptance into the program: 1) Returning  Veteran Players, 2) Siblings of Veteran Players, 3) New Participants. A lottery drawing by division, if required, will be used to determine the priority status of new participants. The Palatine Park District will provide a registration/lottery number when the player is brought in to be weighed at the Wood St. location. Use this number to monitor your status on this web site. It is PAFA’s mission to ensure every kid has the opportunity to play the greatest team sport!

 

 

Equipment handout will occur on a Saturday morning in and then a Sunday afternoon in July. At that time, you will need to pay a non-refundable $100 equipment-reconditioning and $100 operations fee (1 check for $200) per child. Only checks are accepted and should be made payable to PAFA. Each and every year, all the equipment is reconditioned. The helmet is checked by an independent dealer and is either refurbished or replaced. Each child must supply their own football shoes, athletic cup and supporter, and 7 piece pad set: girdle (2 hip pads, 1 tail bone pad, 2 thigh pads and 2 knee pads). An equipment deposit is also required at equipment handout. A separate check for $300 per child is required, made payable to PAFA. This check is POST DATED to October 31. This check will only be cashed if the equipment is not returned. Additional information and the cost for lost or stolen items can be found in the Parents’ Guide.

 

 

All players will be required to provide a copy of their birth certificate to their coach during the first week of practice. All copies of birth certificates are destroyed at the end of each season

 

 

Fund Raising is one of the ways PAFA raises additional funds to help offset the costs of capital improvements, i.e., press box, score boards, goal posts, etc. Fundraising events may include Valu-Cards, Golf Outing, Scotch Double Bowling and Private or Corporate Donations. 

 

 

PAFA eliminated the family volunteer deposit in 2005. Parents are no longer required to volunteer their time working in the concession stand or running the scoreboard. However, we request that each family provides 2 hours of volunteer time per child in the program, for game day chain crews, announcing, and the pep rally.