The Traveling Division consists of teams which play in traveling leagues located in the Greater Philadelphia Region. The teams are segregated by sex and by age. FSA begins travel play at U11. If you are interested in trying out for a travel team send an email to info@fairmountsoccer.org and someone from the travel division will get back to you.

The home field for the fall outdoor season for the traveling division is located at 34th Street and Edgely Drive (a block from 33rd and Diamond Streets) (Map) in Fairmount Park. We share these fields with the Friend's Select School, whose middle school and high school soccer programs are played and practiced there. Outdoor practices and all outdoor home games are played here. Away games are played on fields throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region, mostly in t+\he Northeast section of Philadelphia. A booklet is provided to all traveling players listing directions to each game site. Our How to Get There booklet does get out of date during the year. Use our Searchable Database of Directions to Travel Fields/Courts to review the latest directions for Travel Locations.

Indoors, all practices and home games take place in several Department of Recreation facilities. Away games are played in gyms and recreation centers throughout the City of Philadelphia, mostly in the Northeast section of the City. Use our Searchable Database of Directions to Travel Fields/Courts to review the latest directions for Travel Locations.

Outdoors, traveling teams generally practice twice per week after school. Practices generally last an hour and a half. Games may be played on both Saturdays and Sundays according to which league(s) a particular team has entered. Some games may also be played in the evening during the week, or on weekends, according to which league(s) a particular team has entered. League play begins immediately after the Labor Day holiday and may extend to just before the Christmas holiday. All of our traveling teams require their players to arrive for a game one half hour prior to the start of the game in order to properly warm-up. Game times vary according to age. There is a five minute break between halves. Under 10 teams play 25 minute halves. Under 11 and 12 play 30 minute halves. Under 13 and 14 play 35 minute halves. Under 15 and 16 play 40 minute halves.

Indoors, traveling teams practice in the evening, generally one to two times per week. Practices generally last anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. Indoor games are generally played once per week, during the week in the evening. Some games may be played on weekends. Some weeks may have more than one game scheduled. Games take about one hour and a half including warm-up time prior to the game. Games, including playoff games, are scheduled from the beginning of January, each week, through mid March. All of our traveling teams require their players to arrive for a game one half hour prior to the start of the game in order to properly warm-up. All games for all age groups consist of 20 minute halves.

Some traveling teams play in the spring, March through mid May, in the Eden Hall Spring League. Most of the teams participating in this league do not practice for spring play, although some do practice once per week in the spring. All league games are played on Sundays. The time requirements of the games are the same as for the fall outdoor leagues.

Many of our traveling teams play in tournaments during the summer. Most tournaments involve play on Fridays through Sundays. The time requirements of the games are the same as for the fall outdoor leagues.

While considerable player instruction takes place in the Traveling division, and this instruction is considerably more sophisticated than that in the Intramural division, the Traveling division is not considered an instructional division. The Traveling division is chiefly concerned with competition, putting the best Fairmount team possible for each sex in each age group on the field, and training this team toward continual improvement. Playing time for each player is not guaranteed, however, coaches do play all the players on their team, generally according to their practice and match work ethic, and their ability. Each team is entered into a playing division based on team ability. Most leagues have "Premier", "B" and "C" ability level playing divisions for each age group and sex. If we could field multiple teams for an age group we could conceivably could give a less talented player the traveling team experience. It must be said, however, that fielding a second team in an age group has been extremely difficult for us.

Player's health and safety are paramount, therefore Fairmount Soccer has adopted the following rules:

• All goalkeepers are required to wear mouthguards during practice and games.
• All goalkeepers are required to wear protective equipment to protect their genital area during both practice and games.
• Any player wearing eyeglasses must have them well secured with a sports band so they do not fall off the face during practice or a game.
• All eyeglass lenses must be made of a shatterproof material.
• All goalkeepers who wear eyeglasses must wear "sport glasses", which have lenses made of a shatterproof material and frames which resist contact breakage. Goggles over glasses are not an acceptable means of protection. All goalkeepers needing corrective lenses for their vision are urged to wear "contact lenses".
• If you want more information about player health and safety issues click on the underlined text.

Each Traveling division player is supplied a uniform by the Association. Players receive a shirt, shorts and socks. Outdoors, each player must provide their own shinguards and soccer shoes, which must comply with United States Youth Soccer Association standards. Indoors, players must provide their own shinguards and indoor soccer shoes. If you want more information about soccer equipment click on the underlined text.

The rules which govern all the travel leagues' games are those as stipulated by FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, ammended by the United States Youth Soccer Association for youth play.
Click The Laws of the Game to go to the FIFA WWW Site to review the those rules.
All travel leagues' games are refereed by United States Soccer Federation (USSF) licensed referees.