INDIANAPOLIS — Sign-ups are now being accepted for youth ages 6-15 to join the next Indy Police Athletics & Activities League (Indy PAL) Baseball season. A partnership between IPSF and IMPD, Indy PAL provides youth in Indianapolis with the opportunity to participate in educational, cultural, athletics, mentoring, and other activities that will reduce crime, provide vital life skills, increase self-esteem, and promote a positive relationship with police. Parents and guardians can visit indy-pal.org to sign up.
“The Indy Police Athletics & Activities League provides two critical benefits to our community: safe and productive outlets for youth, and relationship building between neighbors and the officers who serve them,” said IMPD Chief Randal Taylor. “The Indy PAL program has the potential to impact the safety of our community not just today, but also in the future, and we are thrilled to see Indy PAL athletics return to our city this year.”
Practice has begun taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Most games will be played on Saturdays, at Forest Manor Park: 2000 Forest Manor Ave. on the east side. Typically, Indy PAL requires a $25 registration fee at the time of sign up. However, in order to encourage maximum participation, the fee is being waived this year. Sign-ups will be accepted through May 8th.
Indy PAL was created in 1940 by then-Chief of Police Michael F. Morrissey with the assistance of the Indy Parks Department and local community-based organizations. The first Indy PAL activity was a pickup softball game with an IPD officer and neighborhood kids at Rhodius Park. Indy PAL continued to grow to include multiple centers where children in underserved neighborhoods could access safe play spaces and supervised sports, and experience positive interactions with IPD patrol officers. The program continued to evolve and expand, now including “athletics and activities,” ensuring engagement opportunities for young people of all interests. Over its more than 80 years of existence, Indy PAL has served tens of thousands of Indianapolis youth.
In 2019, IPSF assumed the PAL charter and began strategic investment to provide added resources for Indy PAL programs. Last year, Lea Gurnell was named the new Indy PAL Director, and focused on developing creative ways to engage Indianapolis youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the Indy PAL baseball season will mark the first Indy PAL athletics league to take place since 2019. Proper COVID-19 safety precautions as outlined by public health officials, such as mask wearing, will be followed.
