Community Sharing of Athletic Fields Evaluation
April 25, 2005
To document how Dresden, Hanover, and Norwich coordinate the
sharing of facilities and to understand whether further opportunities
existed to maximize sharing, a subcommittee was created. After
several lengthy meetings and much homework, the subcommittee
was able to serve as a catalyst to create more sharing and
is now satisfied that Dresden, Hanover, and Norwich are sharing
efficiently and prudently.
MANY INTANGIBLES
There are many intangibles and unknowns on a year-to-year
basis when it comes to sharing between Dresden, Hanover, and
Norwich, which include issues surrounding the scheduling of
practices and games, future field availability, the respective
recreation departments’ use of volunteer coaches, and
program sizes changing from year to year.
EXISTING SHARING
We have documented that a tremendous amount of sharing was
and is taking place and is bound to continue. (See sharing
matrix on other side.) It’s also important to note that
the Hanover Recreation Department runs the athletic programs
for 7th and 8th graders.
PHILOSOPHY TO GUIDE SHARING/FIELD SCHEDULING
While more sharing could be forced on our school and town
programs, it would occur at the expense of program quality,
participant’s experience, and facilities. It is important
to keep the following factors in mind when evaluating the
use of fields:
A) Overused fields wear out more quickly which causes higher
maintenance costs and increases the risk of injury; for example,
scheduling more activities at an already high use venue like
Sachem is of very limited value.
B) In addition to poor field quality, overcrowding can create
a situation that is dangerous to participants; for example,
multiple teams using one field with overlapped practice times,
or young children playing baseball adjacent to lacrosse programs.
C) The high school teams are very competitive so we do not
want to put them at a disadvantage by asking them to practice
on sub-par facilities with restricted times.
E) Due to weather and other factors, some time slots must
be left open.
THE DARTMOUTH FACTOR
The Dartmouth Athletic Department has made it clear that Dartmouth
fields are effectively out of the picture because of their
own aggressive expansion of programs and construction projects,
as well as NCAA rules that restrict/prohibit college and high
schools from sharing facilities/overlapping practices.
FUTURE POSSIBILITIES
The dialogue will continue between Dresden, Hanover, and Norwich,
and any future opportunities to share fields will be pursued.
Ultimately, looking to the future, Dresden’s heavy reliance
on Dartmouth and Hanover/Norwich recreation fields was possible
when there was a limited demand for those facilities. However,
the net loss of fields due to the tri-party land swap and
the increased number of high school teams, as well as expanding
recreation and Dartmouth programs, make the old model unviable.
Click here to see the FIELDS
INVENTORY & STATUS OF SHARING MATRIX
NOTES:
- Hanover Recreation runs sports programs for Dresden 7
& 8th graders
- Huntley under construction next four years
- Res Rd goes to Dartmouth in July 2009
- Fullington available on year-to-year basis
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