General Information
About PWLP | Football | Scholastics | Registration Information | FAQs | Health & Safety | Sponsorship
In 1957, the North Mecklenburg Optimist Club, a civic group of men in Charlotte dedicated to supporting youth activities, was looking for a good youth work project. It turned to the idea of the establishment of a local Pop Warner youth football program.
Every year since 1957, Pop Warner football and cheerleading has been alive and well in Mecklenburg County. In the mid 1990s, the North Mecklenburg Optimist Club changed its name to the Mecklenburg Optimist Club in order to more properly reflect the broad scope of its membership and service projects. The club has continued to sponsor the program with the volunteer efforts of its members, who give their time to the administration of the program, and raise money to help defray administrative costs.
Since the beginning, the Optimist Club has sponsored the Optimist Bowl, the culmination of the season and the setting for determining the league champions in the upper age and weight divisions. It has been played at high school stadiums and at the downtown Memorial Stadium. The tradition of the Optimist Bowl is difficult to match in national Pop Warner history. Few programs have anything close to the 53 consecutive years of the Optimist Bowl.
In the early 1990s, with the influx of other fall sports and the financial pressures placed on organizations to outfit their teams, the number of teams participating in the league declined to as low as 23 teams. At the same time, other football leagues began to spring up for various reasons, including the desire to avoid the weight restrictions of Pop Warner and the desire to avoid the administrative oversight, which takes place to ensure rule compliance. However, the Optimist Club and representatives of the participating organizations would not let the program die, but instead took a number of steps to improve the program and get the word out to the public about the many positive aspects of Pop Warner football and cheerleading.
Changes were made in the way the program was administered. Organizations became more involved in decisions about rules. Certification of players took place at the locations of the organizations so the children would not have to travel far or stay up late for weigh-ins. Expansion occurred. The league adopted more player friendly must play rules. Regional and National competition was added. A deal was struck with the Carolina Panthers and Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation to create the Sir Purr Bowl, and the play in a game known as the Ray Bowl to give a local team a chance to scrimmage at halftime of a Carolina Panthers’ game at Bank of America Stadium.
Since 1994, the program has made a tremendous turn around and is now the largest Pop Warner league in the Mid-South region, and the fastest growing of all Pop Warner leagues. With the arrival of the Carolina Panthers, the Mecklenburg Optimist Club (with the backing of Pop Warner National) went to NFL Properties and sought permission to use the Panthers name. NFL Properties approved this request, and the name of the league was changed to the Pop Warner Little Panthers. Since 1994, the number of teams in Mecklenburg County has grown from 23 teams to over 130 teams for the 2009 season.
For the past 14 years, the Pop Warner Little Panthers league has been entering teams in the regional and national competitions of Pop Warner Football. The league has had great success, with regional champions, and several national champions since 1995.
It has always been the goal of the Mecklenburg Optimist Club to have a program which complies with the rules of National Pop Warner Football, and which provides a level playing field for children wanting to participate in contact football. We continue to believe that the age and weight schematic is the cornerstone of making football safe to play at a young age. Just as important, it has always been the goal of this program that the children who participate have a great experience.
To contact the Little Panthers' League: JoeMoody@perigee.net
The Pop Warner Little Panthers' League offers the opportunity for participants from seven years of age to 15 years of age to play football in the league. The Mitey-Mite division is a truly instructional league. Scores are kept in the Mitey-Mite division, however there are no standings or league champions.
The League also offers four competitive divisions for those between the ages of eight and 15. Each of these age divisions has weight requirements. League champions are declared in each of these age/weight divisions at the Optimist Bowl games in November.
The Little Panthers' League provides opportunities for participation in football in five age/weight divisions.
Mitey Mite: Ages 7, 8 weighing between 45 & 90 lbs and age 9 weighing between 45 & 75 lbs.
Jr. Pee Wee: Ages 8, 9, & 10 weighing between 60 & 105 lbs and age 11 weighing between 60 & 85 lbs.
Pee Wee: Ages 9, 10, & 11 weighing between 75 & 120 lbs and age 12 weighing between 75 & 100 lbs.
Jr. Midget: Ages 10, 11, & 12 weighing between 85 & 135 lbs and age 13 weighing between 85 & 115 lbs.
Midget: Ages 11, 12, 13 & 14 weighing between 105 & 160 lbs and age 15 weighing between 105 & 140 lbs.
Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc. (PWLS) is the only national youth sports organization in America that requires its participants to perform adequately in the classroom before being permitting them to participate. We believe that the standards we have set give these student athletes a sense of responsibility and an appreciation for academics and athletics that will help them develop later on in life.
Proof of satisfactory progress in school is required. A 2.0/70% or equivalent shall be the minimum grade point average acceptable to participate. We understand that not all student athletes are able to meet our scholastic requirements. If a child does not meet the requirement of scholastic fitness he/she may fill out and submit a Scholastic Eligibility Form. This form allows us to monitor the progress of the child so they maintain a minimum standard and understand the value of academics in conjunction with athletics. As long as the student is progressing in their classes they are allowed to participate.
The Little Panthers' League had over 240 Acholastic All-Americans for the 2009 season.
To qualify to be an All-American, a participant must have GPA of 96 or higher and be in the 5th grade or above.
Congratulations to the scholarship winners from the Little Panthers' League.
Mid-South Region scholarship winners.
Bruce Dixon - Lake Norman Giants - Landis Wade scholarship in the amount of $1,000.
Austin Paytes - MARA Colts - Doc Martin scholarship in the amount of $1,000.
Matthew Ball - Olde Providence Patriots - Ray Ledford scholarship in the amount of $1,000.
Hunter Smith - Steele Creek Seahawks - Mecklenburg Optimist Club scholarship in the amount of $1,000.
Pop Warner National scholarship winners:
Hunter Smith - Steele Creek Seahawks – Brax Spirit Cups scholarship in the amount of $1,000.
Matthew Ball - Olde Providence Patriots – Disney Sports scholarship in the amount of $1,000.
Welcome to the Pop Warner Little Panthers' Football League. All Pop Warner Associations in the Little Panthers' League are responsible for their own registration process. Registrations usually begin in the spring. Each Association is allowed to charge a registration fee. This fee varies at each Association. Additionally, each Association schedules its own participant registration dates. Please visit the Associations web page for more information. Links to each Association's web site are available on the Associations page. To register your children for one of our Pop Warner Associations and for them to be permitted to practice, you will need the following information:
Participant Contract and Parental Consent - This Pop Warner document is the basic registration form and contract signed by participants and their parents agreeing to the rules of Pop Warner.
Physical Fitness & Medical History Form - This Pop Warner form is a signed statement from an examining physician licensed in North Carolina that a candidate is physically fit and there are no observable conditions which would prohibit his or her participating in football, cheerleading, or dance. Please Note – The Physical Examination must be on the Pop Warner Form and dated within the current year – after January 1st of the current year.
Proof of Age - A copy of the birth certificate is required. Passports may be used as well as Military ID cards. It is extremely important to note that photo copies of originals or any other alleged proof of birth date are accepted only for regular season games and upon the willingness of a team to have its schedule forfeited should a fraudulent application later be determined. Original CERTIFIED copies are required for all regional and national playoffs / competitions.
Scholastic Fitness - The most recent complete report card (containing all four quarters of grades and the final grade for the previous year) or a completed Pop Warner Scholastic Eligibility Form or a Home School Form are required.
Dual Participation - Any participant who is found to be simultaneously trying out for a school tackle football team, or who, once the season starts, is found to be participating on a school tackle football team or spirit squad must be cut from his Pop Warner team. Participation in any school tackle football or any other non-affiliated football program and Pop Warner in the same season is not allowed.
Below is a list of sites with good information about health & safety:
National Center for Sports Safety
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
Information coming soon.