Adverse playing conditions a thing of the past, as rugby field will receive an upgrade

Written by Mike Treadgold

“It just gives us more flexibility. It’ll enable us to have a surface that we can use in inclement weather and that’s been the major problem for us.” – Tom Kendall, Athletic director, on the conversion of the rugby pitch to a synthetic surface.

For anyone who witnessed the Gryphon women’s rugby team fight for their OUA championship last October, it was clear that the quality of play did not match the quality of the playing surface.

One of the nation’s top teams throughout the season, the Gryphons, who went undefeated in conference play, were plagued throughout the season by having to deal with a substandard playing surface. The grass field just north of the East residences became torn up due to overuse and failed to respond to inclement weather conditions.

Forced to deal with constant rainfall and competition for playing time with the practicing Gryphons football team, the rugby pitch became, for lack of a better description, a mud bowl. Traction for players ceased to exist and the normally fast-paced games were slowed considerably.

Recognizing that the wear and tear of the surface was limiting the final product, the department of athletics has ratified the conversion of the rugby pitch to a synthetic surface, a project that will be completed in time for the Fall 2010 semester.

“We are in desperate need of at least one synthetic surface,” said athletic director Tom Kendall. “We had to find a field that we could turn into a synthetic field that would be the least expensive to do.

The rugby pitch became the ideal surface for the department to convert, given that it is already a fully constructed field, complete with lighting. There will be no necessary excavation and the process of installing the synthetic surface will be a relatively easy and swift project.

It is critical to note that this development is in no way related to the student referendum that took place last March, when U of G students voted to increase their athletic fees to fund the construction of a new recreational facility and the construction of two synthetic surfaces near East Ring Road.

“The important thing is that this is not part of the referendum commitment,” said Kendall. “We’re not using any of that (student) money to fund this project.”

In December, the referendum project was put on hold for at least one year due to difficult economic issues on the entire campus; however, through intramurals, students will still be able to use the new field.

The new project will be funded through three streams.

Two minor contributions will come from a small budget surplus within the department along with a slight inclusion from operating expenses.

The major source of funding, however, will come from summer rentals of the new field. Local teams will be able to rent the new surface during the summer months when students are not in Guelph, providing a substantial revenue stream for the project.

Because the field has always belonged to the rugby teams, they will receive priority access; however, Kendall also noted that the football and field hockey teams will also use the synthetic surface for practice time, as will some of Guelph’s intramural teams. The rugby teams will still have the opportunity to play their games on the grass fields near East Ring Road.

The versatility of the new field is what makes this project such an outstanding development.

“It just gives us more flexibility,” said Kendall. “It’ll enable us to have a surface that we can use in inclement weather and that’s been the major problem for us. We’ve had practices and intramurals cancelled because the weather was too bad. This will give us an opportunity to complete schedules.

“We’ll be able to use this (new) field from the early afternoon until midnight. There won’t be any issues with wear and tear.”

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