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DRD programmes: where your child can play and what to sign first

Last reviewed: August 15, 2026 — VerifiedDRD

In short

The DRD’s Auxiliary Secretariat for Recreation and Sports plans and runs the programmes people take part in. For children and young people: the Juegos de Puerto Rico, where each year young people aged seven to eighteen represent their municipalities across roughly 35 sports disciplines in both divisions and as many adapted ones; the Sports Development Centers, around 122 across Puerto Rico, with non-traditional disciplines such as boxing, skateboarding, taekwondo, weightlifting and athletics, and beach disciplines like beach volleyball; the Urban Sport Program, with regional tournaments in basketball, baseball and football for the men’s division and softball and volleyball for the women’s; the 14 Under National Basketball Tournament; the DRD Baseball Academies Tournament; and the School Sport Program, with tournaments by semester open to public and private schools. For people with disabilities, there are around 40 Adapted Sports Development Centers, which the DRD runs together with Ser de Puerto Rico, the Paralympic Committee and Special Olympics Puerto Rico, with disciplines such as taekwondo, boccia, swimming, athletics and basketball; and school sport includes an adapted category in several disciplines. For older adults there is the Muévete Conmigo Program and the Adapted Volleyball Tournament for people over 45. Before a minor takes part, the parent or guardian must complete the liability and image release the DRD publishes online.

External link

Go to the official site

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www.drd.pr.gov

What is it?

The Auxiliary Secretariat for Recreation and Sports is responsible for setting the calendar of sports and recreation events and creating opportunities for children, young people and older adults to enjoy varied events. Separately there is the Puerto Rican Institute for the Development of Sport and Recreation (IPDDER), which trains and certifies the professionals: recreation leaders, sports coaches, referees and fitness instructors. The DRD says the Institute has trained and certified over 20 thousand people. There is a discrepancy on the Institute’s own page worth knowing before you call: one block gives switchboard 787-721-2800 with extensions 4351 and 4352 and names Juan García as Director, and another gives the same switchboard with extensions 4322 and 4323 and names Héctor Ronald O’Neill Vázquez as Director. Both versions are published and this guide does not pick between them.

Who can do it?

It depends on the programme. The Juegos de Puerto Rico are for young people aged seven to eighteen representing their municipalities. The 14 Under National Basketball Tournament accepts one team per municipality in the men’s and women’s divisions. The Urban Sport Program is made up of participants from the Urban Sport Development Centers in the DRD’s nine regions, except the North Region which splits into two because of its size, for a total of ten regional teams; where several centres have participants outside the tournament’s official age, carnivals are held so they still get the experience. The School Sport Program is open to public and private schools that register, and in individual sports it allows homeschooled students to take part. The Adapted Sports Development Centers are for children and young people with a disability. The Adapted Volleyball Tournament is for teams of people over 45. The Muévete Conmigo Program is aimed at older adults. And the Inter-agency Cups are for players from government agencies.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Sign the release before your child steps on the court

    In its online services section the DRD publishes a liability and image release form that the parent, guardian or person in charge must complete to authorize their child to take part in sports programming organized by the Department. It is not optional paperwork: it is the permission.

  2. Step 2: Find the nearest Sports Development Center

    These are places offering training in non-traditional sports disciplines — boxing, skateboarding, taekwondo, weightlifting, athletics — and beach disciplines such as beach volleyball. The DRD has around 122 across Puerto Rico. The year closes with the Christmas Festival, held the same day in several municipalities simultaneously.

  3. Step 3: If your child has a disability, there is a track of its own

    The Adapted Sports Development Centers train children and young people with a disability, and the DRD runs them together with Ser de Puerto Rico, the Paralympic Committee and Special Olympics Puerto Rico. They offer disciplines such as taekwondo, boccia, swimming, athletics and basketball, and there are around 40 of these centres across the island. In addition, the Juegos de Puerto Rico include adapted disciplines, and the School Sport Program includes an adapted category in several disciplines.

  4. Step 4: The Juegos de Puerto Rico are the main door

    Each year participants aged seven to eighteen represent their municipalities across roughly 35 sports disciplines in both divisions and as many adapted disciplines. If the host municipality lacks the facilities for certain sports, neighbouring towns are used. Registration goes through the municipality.

  5. Step 5: At school, check which semester your sport is in

    The School Sport Program runs tournaments each semester so public and private schools can register. In the first school semester there is girls’ softball, volleyball, table tennis (adapted), cross country (adapted), chess, 3x3 basketball (adapted), beach handball, wrestling, taekwondo and judo. In the second semester there is baseball, football, basketball, tennis, track and field (adapted), weightlifting, beach volleyball, swimming (adapted) and archery. And there is a surprising detail: in individual sports, homeschooled students are allowed to take part. Champion teams in beach volleyball, basketball, volleyball, 3x3 basketball and athletics get the chance to travel and represent the programme in international competitions.

  6. Step 6: There are programmes for adults and older adults

    The Muévete Conmigo Program is aimed at older adults, with rhythmic exercise, salsa and yoga, to promote a more active and healthy lifestyle. The Adapted Volleyball Tournament brings together teams of people over 45 competing for the national championship. The DRD Beach Circuits run year-round on various beaches, with beach volleyball, tennis, football and handball and open-water water polo, for young people and adults. And Baseball Clase A is Puerto Rico’s oldest baseball tournament, with more than 85 teams.

  7. Step 7: If something happens, there are two forms and two emails

    The DRD publishes an Incident Report form in PDF which, once completed, is sent to institutopr@drd.pr.gov. And it publishes a Sports Facility Damage form, also in PDF, sent to infraestructura_sm@drd.pr.gov. They are two different recipients: an incident involving a person goes to one, damage to the facility goes to the other.

  8. Step 8: And if what you want is to be certified to coach

    The Puerto Rican Institute for the Development of Sport and Recreation (IPDDER), created under Ley 8 of 8 January 2024, offers professional courses and workshops to recreation leaders, sports coaches, referees and fitness instructors, and trains people to obtain the corresponding professional licence. Courses appear in the DRD Calendar under the "Curso/Taller" activity, and there is a platform called IPDDER Digital. Course tuition and sports and recreation licence payments are made through the IPDDER payment portal. This guide publishes no cost for any licence or course: the DRD has the payment portal but does not publish the figures in text.

Where to do it

The liability release, the Incident Report and the Sports Facility Damage form are in the Online Services section of drd.pr.gov. The Incident Report goes to institutopr@drd.pr.gov and the damage one to infraestructura_sm@drd.pr.gov. For the Institute, the DRD switchboard is 787-721-2800; the IPDDER page itself publishes two different extension pairs, 4351 and 4352 in one block and 4322 and 4323 in another. Registration for the Juegos de Puerto Rico and the 14 Under Tournament goes through the municipality.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

The first thing this guide cannot tell you is what anything costs. The DRD has a payment portal naming Summer Camp tuition, licences, renewals and fines, Baseball Clase A payments and padel and pickleball court rentals, but it publishes not a single figure in text, and none is invented here. It also publishes no registration calendars with dates, no number of places per centre, and no age requirements per discipline beyond the general ranges. If you are looking for a specific centre, the DRD publishes the totals — around 122 regular and around 40 adapted — but not a text directory of their addresses; you have to ask. On the Institute, bear in mind its own page contradicts itself: two staff lists, two directors and two extension pairs for the same switchboard. This guide reproduces both versions rather than picking one. And for school sport, the entry point is not you: the school registers, except in individual sports, where the DRD expressly allows homeschooled participation.

Common mistakes

  • Bringing a minor to take part without completing the liability and image release.
  • Assuming there is no option for a child with a disability: there are around 40 Adapted Sports Development Centers.
  • Looking for a sport in the wrong semester: the school programme splits disciplines between first and second semester.
  • Ruling out a homeschooled student: the DRD allows their participation in individual sports.
  • Sending an incident report to the facility damage address, or the reverse: they are two different emails.
  • Registering directly for the Juegos de Puerto Rico instead of through the municipality, which is what represents you.
  • Calling the Institute extension shown in one block of the page without knowing another is published.

Frequently asked questions

What age is needed for the Juegos de Puerto Rico?

From seven to eighteen. Each year participants represent their municipalities across roughly 35 sports disciplines in both divisions and as many adapted disciplines.

Is there sport for children with disabilities?

Yes. The Adapted Sports Development Centers train children and young people with a disability and are run together with Ser de Puerto Rico, the Paralympic Committee and Special Olympics Puerto Rico, with disciplines such as taekwondo, boccia, swimming, athletics and basketball. There are around 40 across the island, and school sport includes an adapted category in several disciplines.

Can a homeschooled student compete?

In individual sports, yes. The DRD says expressly that in the School Sport Program homeschooled students are allowed to take part in individual sports.

How much do the programmes cost?

The DRD publishes no figures in text. Its payment portal names Summer Camp tuition, licences, renewals and fines, Baseball Clase A payments and padel and pickleball court rentals, but without amounts. This guide does not invent them: ask the DRD.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

August 15, 2026

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