Every year, the United Youth Football League comes to Plant City to turn the “Winter Strawberry Capital” into a youth football capital.
The United YFL Football Championships are about to be back in Plant City for the seventh consecutive year. The 2017 “Run for the Rings” — so named because championship teams do leave with blinged-out rings — will officially kick off Dec. 3 at Ellis-Methvin Park, 2401 E. Cherry St. This will be the second year competition goes down at Ellis-Methvin, though last year’s tournament happened before the park was officially completed and the ribbon was cut on Dec. 15, 2016.
Though the final brackets were not available at press time, the Plant City area will be represented throughout five of the tournament’s 18 age groups. The Plant City Dolphins are sending their Mighty Mite, Pee Wee, Midget, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams to compete and are also sponsoring a team for the 15U All-Star division that will include some Dolphins and some Plant City High School Raiders players.
In the 2016 United YFL Championships, Tri-County Youth Football and Cheerleading Conference teams made an impact and won three divisions. The Dolphins came out on top of the 14U All-Stars division without losing a single game. Tri-County Elite teams — all-star squads comprised of TCYFCC players from various teams — won the 6U division over Plant City, 13-0, and the 15U All-Stars division over the D.C. Knights, 26-7.
It could be a particularly busy weekend for the Plant City Dolphins Midgets, who may also compete in the Game Day of Champions at Raymond James Stadium if they are victorious in Saturday’s TCYFCC Superbowl championship match against the Brandon Cowboys.
Games will be played all day, every day throughout the week using Ellis-Methvin’s seven available fields. The UFYL’s setup will also feature vendor booths and a pavilion where teams will be honored after wins with their own ring ceremonies.
There’s more than just football, though. The UYFL is also hosting its cheerleading championships at the same time, though that competition will be held at the Florida State Fairgrounds on Dec. 9. There will also be a Family Night at the fairgrounds from 5 to 10 p.m. Dec. 7, where families can go for live music and other entertainment, photo booths and more.
Tickets for all events can be bought online at UnitedYFL.com/championships/events in the form of single-day or weeklong packages ranging from $10 to $25. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate, though the cost does increase for the cheer competition and Family Night.