The Upper East Field will remain closed until next June due to its dry condition after limited irrigation since May 1. The irrigation was reduced by 45 percent and Physical Plant suggested the closure to prevent further damage and comply with campus and city water rationing.
Competitive sports supervisor Kevin “Skippy” Givens said NCAA, club and intramural sports are now preparing to accommodate losing the largest recreational field on campus.
“We’re desperately trying to find some alternatives and see what we can come up with,” Givens said. “It’s pretty new but we are going to do some field rentals for Harvey West Park. However, they close in December and they don’t re-open until March, and that’s also prime season [because] field sports are in season — baseball, men’s soccer, the rugby teams, the ultimate frisbee teams.”
Intramural sports coordinator Linda Clauss said the intramural staff and student leaders will meet tomorrow to brainstorm solutions for intramural sports that use the upper field. She mentioned potentially bringing back one-day tournaments when the lower field is available, and utilizing other available spaces on campus. Team tennis, more aquatic sports and wiffleball are tentative ideas for intramural sports that can be played at different facilities.
“We will introduce some new sports we haven’t run in a while, or that we haven’t run before,” Clauss said. “We’ll do some research. I certainly feel the impact of it, I’m not trying to take it lightly. My personality is being creative and innovative, so I’m taking this as an opportunity to really take stock of how we’ve been using our resources, how we’ve been programming.”
