About 500 youngsters garbed in a rainbow of colors swarmed over the North Vidinha fields for the start of the Kaua‘i Police Activities League Flag Football and Cheer season, yesterday. “This is the day we had to split our family,”
About 500 youngsters garbed in a rainbow of colors swarmed over the North Vidinha fields for the start of the Kaua‘i Police Activities League Flag Football and Cheer season, yesterday.
“This is the day we had to split our family,” said Elise Guirao, who accompanied her daughter, Amber Lopes, to the Visitor Industry Charity Walk Shopping Spree in ‘Ele‘ele. “My husband and son are at flag football, which started today from 8 a.m.”
Mark Ozaki, the K-PAL coordinator, said there are about 500 kids playing in four divisions for this year’s programs.
This excludes the year-round cheer program headed by Crystal Kaya, who had the cheerleaders manning the shave ice booth and a special booth sporting a variety of colored T-shirts emblazoned with the K-PAL flag football logo.
Kaya said the girls practice all year and perform at various community functions. When the flag football season starts, the girls come out and cheer and help where they are needed.
The games usually start with the older players, 10 years through 17 years, playing in the Enforcer division.
Players in the 5- to 6-year old division play in the Cubs Division, and new for this year is a 7-year-old age class called the Troopers.
Youngsters in the 8- to 9- year old division are the Bobcats.
Admission to the games are free, but there are many ways to support the program including buying shave ice and Spam musubi as well as getting a supporter T-shirt for a $5 contribution.
“This year, there is no specific color for each town as it was last year,” Kaya said. “We’re now united as one and it’s all the colors of the rainbow.”
Ozaki said the games will continue at 8 a.m. each Saturday at the North Vidinha fields through July 12.
The flag football games will move to the Hanapepe Stadium on June 21 only.
