To the editor:
The board of directors of Peabody Pop Warner are truly saddened and taken aback by the accusations, rumors and innuendos that have been spread recently.
We welcome the addition of another football league in the city of Peabody ("Peabody hopes to enter NEC youth football conference," Saturday, Jan. 23) as we understand that Pop Warner is not for every family. It is always to the benefit of the community to have a choice.
Peabody Youth Football Inc., doing business as Peabody Pop Warner, has been a mainstay in the city for more than 40 years. Originally the program was formed as an intra-city league with one team representing each of the six wards within Peabody. Its mission was then, and continues to be now, to enable the youth of Peabody to benefit from participation in team sports and activities in a safe and structured environment.
Pop Warner's mission and rules are more closely aligned to those that the founders of Peabody Youth Football Inc. had originally defined, including having well-defined age and weight breakdowns for a football program that is sanctioned by the insurance industry. These age and weight limits are important to ensure the safety of all participants.
In addition, Pop Warner has a well-established Spirit (cheerleading) program that provides children with the opportunity to perform in an organized, supervised, safety-oriented environment.
The Spirit program is structured so that teams are allowed to compete at their established level of expertise. (Our D cheer team, which was completely funded by our league, went all the way to Disney World last season.)
Lastly, Pop Warner also emphasizes the importance of academic success and backs that up with scholarship awards to the highest academic achievers. We are proud to be part of the only national youth sports organization in America that requires its participants to perform adequately in the classroom before permitting them to play.
Throughout all of the 30 years we have been in Pop Warner, the program has operated in the black and financial statements have been published on an annual basis. Our dedication and contributions to the success of the program are unquestionable and we all devote a great number of hours each year working to ensure the success of the program and stay true to the original mission. We have always welcomed attendance at our meetings and most certainly welcome new faces with fresh ideas to join our board.
Although we are still in negotiations, we are trying to redistrict our team so that we play teams closer to our city.
We also now accept credit cards for registration (online and full payments only).
Our vigorous fundraising efforts allow us to keep our registration costs the same, with no increase. Also we were able to raise enough funds to purchase brand-new uniforms for both cheering and football.
And with the tough economic times, we are offering parents a chance to register their children with a 50 percent deposit with the remaining 50 percent due on or anytime before Aug. 1, 2010.
We take pride in the youth of our city and our work in support of their athletic and academic growth.
We are only in this for one reason — the children. We sincerely hope that you agree with our direction and look forward to serving you and your children for the 2010 season and beyond.
For information on how to join Peabody Pop Warner, please visit our Web site at www.eteamz.com/ppw; or visit our booth during citywide sign-ups on Saturday, Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Higgins Middle School.
Jim Arsenault
Vice President
For the board of directors
Peabody Pop Warner
Peabody
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