The short answer
Football Ontario's member list has exactly three youth tackle clubs in Durham Region: the Durham Dolphins, the Oshawa Hawkeyes and the Clarington Knights. It lists no tackle club in Whitby, Uxbridge, Scugog or Brock.
Seven flag programs cover five towns. Ajax has UA Flag Durham and Durham Sports Academy. Whitby has the Whitby Lions and Durham Region NFL Flag.
Oshawa has UA Flag Oshawa, Courtice has Clarington Flag Football, and Uxbridge got Blitz Flag Football in spring 2026. None of them is based in Pickering.
Every club by town
Football Ontario's own website link for the Dolphins points to an old address that now redirects to an unrelated site. The club's real site is dfootball.ca.
We checked Football Ontario's tackle and flag lists and both league member lists for Scugog (Port Perry) and Brock. We found no youth club based in either.
| Town | Club | Type | Ages | Season | Home field | Cost | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax | UA Flag Durham | Flag | 5 to 13 (house league) | Fall 2026: Friday evenings, September 4 to October 23 | Archbishop Denis O'Connor CHS, 80 Mandrake St, Ajax | Fall 2026: $299 + HST | uaflag.ca |
| Ajax | Durham Sports Academy | Flag | Durham Elite 7's travel teams: U12 to U18 | Leagues, an all-girls night and an indoor winter league; dates not posted | Not posted | Not posted | durhamsportsacademy.ca |
| Ajax and Pickering | Durham Dolphins | Tackle | U10 to U18 teams in 2026 | 2026: summer games May 16 to July 25; fall games September 5 to October 31 | Bev Morgan Field, Pine Ridge SS, 2155 Liverpool Rd, Pickering | Fall 2026: $625 returning, $695 new | dfootball.ca |
| Whitby (Brooklin) | Whitby Lions | Flag, non-contact | 6 to 16 | Spring: late April to end of June, Sunday afternoons. Fall 2026: September 13 to November 1, Sunday mornings | Brooklin High School (fall 2026) | Ask the club | whitbylionsfootball.ca |
| Whitby | Durham Region NFL Flag | Flag, non-contact, co-ed | 6 to 16 | Spring May to June and fall September to October, Saturdays 10am to 2pm. Winter 2027: January 9 to February 27, indoors | Winter: All Saints CSS, Whitby. Outdoor field not posted | Winter 2027: $399, all in | durhamregionnflflagfootball.com |
| Oshawa | Oshawa Hawkeyes | Tackle | U10 to U18 teams in 2026 | 2026: summer games May 16 to July 11; fall games September 5 to October 25 | Oshawa Civic Recreation Complex, 99 Thornton Rd S | Ask the club | hawkeyes.ca |
| Oshawa | UA Flag Oshawa | Flag | U10 to U14 | Fall 2026: Sundays 10am to 2pm, September 13 to November 8 | Maxwell Heights SS, 1100 Coldstream Dr | Fall 2026: $275 + HST | uaflag.ca |
| Clarington (Bowmanville) | Clarington Knights | Tackle | U14 to U18 teams in 2026, plus U19 women | 2026: summer games May 16 to July 26; fall U14 games September 12 to November 1 | Clarington Fields, 2375 Baseline Rd W, Bowmanville | Ask the club | claringtonfootball.com |
| Clarington (Courtice) | Clarington Flag Football | Flag (NFL FLAG) | 7 to 17 | Fall 2026: Tuesday nights, final on October 27 | South Courtice Arena turf, 1595 Prestonvale Rd | Winter clinic 2026: $299 | claringtonflagfootball.ca |
| Uxbridge | Blitz Flag Football | Flag | 10 to 13 | Spring 2026: six weeks from May, Wednesday games | Joseph Gould Public School | Not found | No site found |
Flag and tackle football in Ajax
Ajax shares its tackle club with Pickering. The Durham Dolphins were the Ajax-Pickering Dolphins until they rebranded in 2014, and their mailing address is on Orchard Road in Ajax.
UA Flag Durham played its fall 2026 house league on Friday evenings at Archbishop Denis O'Connor, for ages 5 to 13, at $299 plus HST.
Durham Sports Academy runs flag leagues, an all-girls flag night, an indoor winter league and the Durham Elite 7's travel teams for U12 to U18. It has not posted a venue or fees.
More on our Sunday sessions: football training in Ajax.
Tackle football in Pickering
Pickering is where the Dolphins play. Every 2026 Dolphins home game, summer and fall, is at Bev Morgan Field, on the Pine Ridge Secondary grounds at 2155 Liverpool Road.
Fall 2026 tackle started August 17, with practices Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6 to 8pm and six league games from early September. It cost $625 for returning players and $695 for new ones. The club loans equipment.
More for Pickering families: football training near Pickering.
Flag football in Whitby and Brooklin
The Whitby Lions, founded in 2012, run non-contact flag for ages 6 to 16. Their fall 2026 games are Sunday mornings at Brooklin High School, from September 13 to November 1.
Durham Region NFL Flag is co-ed and non-contact, also for ages 6 to 16, with spring and fall games on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm.
Its winter 2027 program runs eight Saturdays, January 9 to February 27, indoors at All Saints Catholic Secondary in Whitby. It costs $399, all in.
For tackle, the nearest clubs are the Dolphins and the Hawkeyes. More for Whitby families: football training near Whitby.
Flag and tackle football in Oshawa
The Oshawa Hawkeyes play tackle out of the Oshawa Civic Recreation Complex, 99 Thornton Road South. In 2026 they entered summer teams from U10 to U18 and fall teams at U12 and U14.
The club's new-to-football page says rep outdoor practices begin May 1, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with indoor practices from March.
UA Flag Oshawa plays Sundays from 10am to 2pm at Maxwell Heights Secondary, 1100 Coldstream Drive. Its fall 2026 season runs September 13 to November 8, at $275 plus HST.
More for Oshawa families: football training near Oshawa.
Flag and tackle football in Clarington and Uxbridge
The Clarington Knights play at Clarington Fields, 2375 Baseline Road West in Bowmanville. In 2026 they entered U14, U16 and U18 teams, and neither league's 2026 list shows a Knights team at U10 or U12.
Clarington Flag Football started in fall 2024 with four teams and had more than 100 players by spring 2026. It takes families from Oshawa and Whitby too.
Its fall 2026 season ran on Tuesday nights at the South Courtice Arena turf, with the final set for October 27, 2026.
In Uxbridge, Blitz Flag Football started in May 2026 with 54 players aged 10 to 13, according to the Uxbridge Cosmos. We found no website for it.
Age groups by birth year, fall 2026 and 2027
Football Ontario sets age groups by birth year. Tackle groups move up each fall and hold through the next spring and summer. Flag divisions follow the 2027 calendar year. U8 is non-contact only, and tackle starts at U10.
Some club pages still show older birth years than this chart, and a club can move a player up or down a group with league approval. Use the chart to get close, then ask the club where your child will play.
More on timing: what age to start tackle football.
| Division | Tackle (born) | Tackle format | Flag (born) |
|---|---|---|---|
| U8 | 2019 or 2020 | No tackle (non-contact only) | Ask your club |
| U10 | 2017 or 2018 | 6 a side | Ask your club |
| U12 | 2015 or 2016 | 6 or 9 a side | 2016 or 2017 |
| U14 | 2013 or 2014 | Full tackle | 2014 or 2015 |
| U16 | 2011 or 2012 | Full tackle | 2012 or 2013 |
| U18 | 2009 or 2010 | Full tackle | 2010 or 2011 |
| U20 | Junior tackle: ask your club | Full tackle | 2008 or 2009 |
High school football in Durham
Durham high school football runs through LOSSA (Lake Ontario Secondary School Athletics) as a fall sport. Its members are the secondary schools in Durham Region, except Brock High School.
In 2026 only five LOSSA schools field a team. Junior varsity: Brooklin (Whitby), Denis O'Connor (Ajax), Holy Trinity (Courtice), Paul Dwyer (Oshawa) and Uxbridge. Senior varsity: the same list without Denis O'Connor.
For football after high school, see U SPORTS vs NCAA and how to get recruited from Canada.
Adult leagues that show up in searches
Some Durham football results are for adults only. The Ajax Touch Football League is a men's touch league, founded in 1977, that plays Saturday mornings at Roland Michener Public School.
LUG Sports runs adult and college flag leagues in Whitby. Football Ontario's adult flag circuit stops in Oshawa on February 13, 2027. None of these takes kids.
Ajax FC and Pickering FC are soccer clubs
Many "youth football durham region" results are soccer clubs. Ajax FC is the Ajax Soccer Club. Pickering FC and Champions FC are soccer clubs too. Every program on this page is gridiron football.
Mentor Flag Football is an NFL FLAG league, but it plays in Sharon, in York Region.
Registration status as of October 26, 2026
Five fall seasons are still running this week, and the last one (UA Flag Oshawa) ends November 8. This is what each club's own site showed on October 26, 2026.
- Durham Dolphins: fall 2026 games run to October 31. The club's FAQ says summer registration usually opens January 5. 2027 fees and dates are not posted.
- Oshawa Hawkeyes: the online registration page has no form and no dates.
- Clarington Knights: the registration page shows no open forms. The newest sign-up notice on the site is from January 5, 2025.
- Whitby Lions: fall 2026 registration is closed, with a waitlist by email.
- Durham Region NFL Flag: the home page says winter registration is open, but the registration page showed no forms. Contact the league to check. The league says spring registration opens in January.
- UA Flag Durham and UA Flag Oshawa: fall 2026 registration is closed.
- Clarington Flag Football: a winter clinic runs six Thursdays, November 12 to December 17, 6 to 8pm, at Bowmanville Community Complex, for $299. The next league season is by waitlist.
- Durham Sports Academy: no dates or fees posted.
- Blitz Flag Football (Uxbridge): we found no website and no word of a 2027 season.
Youth football training in Durham Region
KF Football is not a league or a club, and we are not on Football Ontario's member lists. We are a training program, in Ajax since 2013, for players who want position coaching alongside their club or school season.
Sunday sessions run in 8-week blocks, and you can join on any Sunday. They run 9 to 10am at The Competitive Edge in Ajax.
Ages 8 to 16 train in two groups (8 to 11 and 12 to 16). It costs $99 a month + HST, and a second child gets 25% off every payment.
Coach Darryl Cain, on our coaching staff since 2016, works defensive backs on speed, agility and tactical awareness. Coach Keith Godding played receiver at Bishop's University, then spent time with the Alouettes, Argonauts, BC Lions and Edmonton.
Each position page shows what we coach: receiver training and defensive back training.
Check the timing first. Two Sunday flag leagues clash with our 9 to 10am session in Ajax: Whitby Lions fall games are Sunday mornings, and UA Flag Oshawa starts at 10am on Sundays in Oshawa.
Dolphins and Hawkeyes practices are on weeknights. Dolphins fall 2026 practices were Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and Hawkeyes spring rep practices are Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Our 7v7 Travel Team runs January to May: invite-only, 16U and 13U, with weekly practices and tournaments. To be considered, upload film or a Hudl link. Here is how 7v7 compares with flag.
In May and June our NCAA Camp Tours take groups to NCAA camps with coaching on site. To start on Sundays, sign up or ask us a question.