In the summer of 2002, we began with twelve 5-6 year-olds. We played basketball as part of the Royal Ambassadors, a youth organization from Union Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina. Since then we have grown in size and scope and are now called the Durham Hurricanes Youth Athletic Association, Inc, a non profit organization. Our teams' interests include basketball, baseball, soccer, flag football, track and field, and cheerleading. Our organization motto is "Creating Teams and Building Friendships" and we strongly believe that through sports we can build relationships that will last a lifetime. The Durham Hurricanes is a non-profit organization whose goal is to provide children ages 5 and up an opportunity to play sports in a competitive, supportive, and nurturing atmosphere. It is our belief that participation in sports enhances every area of youth development. We believe that through sports, we can build stronger youth, stronger families, and stronger communities. Specifically, teamwork and good sportsmanship are life-long skills that our youth will develop. Parent involvement will also be critical, as it will provide positive role-models for our youth, while cementing our belief that athletics enhances self-esteem and emotional development. Thus, our vision for this organization is to create teams and build friendships that last a lifetime. We believe that having the same players, families and coaches year-after-year will give everyone involved a sense of consistency and stability. The Durham hurricanes strongly recommends that all parents, coaches and volunteers read the Standard Operating Procedures for our organization. The SOP is to insure that all our parents, coaches and volunteer adhere to policies and rules established by our board members. Violation of the rules and policies could result in expulsion from the organization.