Santa Barbara Police Activities League

The Santa Barbara Police Activities League is involved in a partnership with the cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta, the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department and the Santa Barbara City School District to provide daily after-school sports on campus from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m.

This partnership is a result of a unified effort on behalf of the South County Gang Task Force to provide an alternative to gang involvement and youth violence to the youth of the South Coast. In addition to after-school sports, the criteria for participation include personal accountability for each student to complete their homework, be a good citizen and maintain satisfactory grade point averages. Participation in after-school sports requires the student to attend school the day of a practice or a game.

The partnership of all four junior high schools from the Santa Barbara School District gives each student a familiarization with neighboring schools to include games on different campuses weekly. A goal of the South County Gang Task Force is to berak down geographical barriers and develop school pride and sportsmanship.

In addition to weekly games against rival schools, SBPAL hosts a district-wide tournament for each sport and awards the top three teams with trophies.

This truly remarkable partnership includes access to students' grades and attendance as well as monetary support from all partners involved. This program began in 2008 and has become a stepping stone for many students in to club sports provided by SBPAL.