While the current collegiate football season is nearing its completion, and the NFL regular season is nearly finished, the flag football season in South Florida is just getting underway. It all kicks off with the 16th annual Flags for the Cure flag football tournament, which will be held Jan. 4-8 in Wellington.
There are a record 74 teams registered to play in this popular local tournament.
In the past, this tournament has been held at Acreage Community Park, but that venue is not available due to it being renovated, so Flag for the Cure has been moved to Village Park at 11700 Pierson Road in Wellington.
In addition to crowning champions in seven different competitive brackets, the event has a bigger purpose — it raises money for the American Cancer Society.
“In our first 15 years, we have raised $360,000 for the American Cancer Society from this tournament,” Tournament Director Dr. Hart Collier said. “Last year’s event generated $35,000 for cancer research, and we hope to raise at least that much this year.”
The tournament’s seven competitive brackets range from 10 & Under Co-eds to the Women’s Over 30 division. The tournament’s youngest registered competitor is six years old, and the oldest is 57.
The bracket with the largest number of teams is the Men’s Open, which has 29 teams. In this special fundraising event, creative names are part of the fun. Some of the more creative team names this year are Hop Scotch Mafia, Swagcats, Dragon’s Playmakers and Toon Squad.
One of the major events at this annual tournament is the staging of a ceremony to honor and remember those who are currently battling cancer, those who have lost their lives to cancer and to the caregivers who are so instrumental during all stages of the battle against cancer. The ceremony at the upcoming tournament will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the Village Park football fields.
The starting time for games on Jan. 4 through Jan. 6 is 6 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 7, the games will start at 8 a.m. On Sunday, Jan. 8, the games will begin at 9 a.m. There is no charge to attend the games, and parking is free.
The opening games will start at 6 p.m. on Jan. 4. The championship games will be played Sunday, Jan. 8.
The tournament’s major sponsors include the Village of Wellington, Hubb’s Tire & Service and Builtx Inc. Learn more about Flags for the Cure at www.facebook.com/FlagsForTheCure.
