Understanding Pop Warner Football Weight Classes

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Pop Warner is a non-profit sports organization offering football, cheerleading and dancing programs for youngsters from 5 to 16 years of age. Founded in 1929, Pop Warner focuses on developing strong minds and bodies by placing equal emphasis on youth sports and scholastic achievement.

Pop Warner's football program employs a comprehensive age and weight matrix that ensures kids compete safely. Understanding Pop Warner football weight classes requires knowledge of its blended sorting system that takes into account the age as well as the weight of the players in a particular category to promote a more balanced contest where older but lighter participants can still qualify to play competitively. As with all Pop Warner venues, teamwork, character building and fun are the fundamental goals of the program.

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Weight Classes and Divisions

Pop Warner has nine tackle football divisions: Tiny-Mite, Mitey-Mite, Junior Peewee, Peewee, Junior Midget, Midget, Junior Bantam, Unlimited and Bantam. The listing below will give you additional details about the weight and age classes for each. You'll see that some classes are exempt from the "older but lighter" mixed ranking arrangement:

  • Tiny-Mite: Ages 5, 6 and 7 (35-75 lbs.); No older but lighter
  • Mitey-Mite: Ages 7, 8 and 9 (45-90 lbs.); No older but lighter
  • Junior Peewee: Ages 8, 9 and 10 (60-105 lbs.); also older but lighter 11-year-olds (60-85 lbs.)
  • Peewee: Ages 9, 10 and 11 (75-120 lbs.); also older but lighter 12-year-olds (75-100 lbs.)
  • Junior Midget: Ages 10, 11 and 12 (85-135 lbs.); also older but lighter 13-year-olds (85-115 lbs.)
  • Midget: Ages 11, 12 13 and 14 (105-160 lbs.); also older but lighter 15-year-olds (105-140 lbs.)
  • Junior Bantam: Ages 12, 13 and 14 (120-170 lbs.); also older but lighter 15-year-olds (120-150 lbs.)
  • Unlimited: Ages 12, 13, 14 and 15 (170 plus lbs.); No older but lighter
  • Bantam: Ages 13, 14 and 15 (135-185 lbs.); also older but lighter 16-year-olds (135-165 lbs.)

Since age and weight specifics are important in deciding a child's football division, Pop Warner establishes a player's age for the season as "his or her age as of July 31st." After the second game in the season, a player is allowed to gain up to a pound a week to a maximum of nine pounds total for the year.

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From encouraging team spirit in football, dance and cheerleading to developing leadership in youth coaching, Pop Warner is dedicated to helping the youth of today become the responsible men and women of tomorrow. Where kids' sports are concerned, Pop Warner makes safety a top priority.

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Sources

  • Pop Warner. "Ages and Weights for Tackle Football Programs." Undated. 10/13/10.http://www.popwarner.com/football/footballstructure.asp
  • Pop Warner. "Football Overview." Undated. 10/13/10.http://www.popwarner.com/football/pop.asp
  • Pop Warner. "The Future Begins Here." Undated. 10/13/10.http://www.popwarner.com/
  • Wood, Ryan. "10 Common Questions for Pop Warner Parents." Undated. 10/13/10.http://www.active.com/football/Articles/10-Common-Questions-for-Pop-Warner-Parents.htm