This spring, Wesleyan will be home to a new synthetic turf field on the grounds of the former Long Lane School. The new turf will provide an alternative to the current playing fields, which become unusable during inclement weather.
According to Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education John Biddiscombe, there has been an increasing trend towards the use of synthetic turf fields among schools in northern climates over the past four years, particularly in field hockey and lacrosse.
“The synthetic turf allows the ball to move faster, provides for more accurate passing, and generally provides a faster, more exciting game for participants and spectators,” Biddiscombe said.
Currently, all of the NESCAC schools except Amherst and Wesleyan have a synthetic field, and Amherst is also planning to install one. Trinity has two synthetic turf fields, while Middlebury and Hamilton have had their own synthetic fields for over five years.
“I think [the new synthetic turf field] will be a big help because we will finally get to have Wesleyan turf as our turf instead of playing at Trinity,” said Fiona Lundy ’08, who is a member of the women’s lacrosse team. “It will be great to play here and get more fans out.”
In addition to the growing number of colleges that are adopting synthetic turfs, Biddiscombe said that most high schools now have synthetic fields or at least some access to them. For example, the Connecticut High School State Field Hockey Championship is now played on a synthetic field similar to the surface the University plans to install.
“High School athletes matriculating to Wesleyan expect that a synthetic surface will be included among the athletic facilities,” Biddiscombe said.
The synthetic turf will allow Wesleyan’s varsity teams to practice and play when the grass fields are unplayable. Although it will be geared toward the field hockey and lacrosse teams, the baseball and softball teams will also benefit from the turf. When the Bacon Field House becomes too crowded to hold their pre-season practices, the synthetic turf will provide a good alternative.
“Currently, our teams travel to Trinity to practice on their turf a few evenings each fall and spring when weather conditions prevent the use of our grass fields,” said Biddiscombe. “However, this arrangement is educationally unsound, for it takes the students away from their studies and participation in non-athletic activities.”
Women’s Lacrosse Player Sophia Kim ’08 agrees.
“If it rains badly or snows we can’t play here, and there’s a lot of wasted time when you have to travel to practice somewhere else,” Kim said. “Or sometimes we’ll have to practice indoors, like in the field house, and that’s bad on your legs. With the turf, if it snows it can be plowed and if it rains it doesn’t matter.”
Another initiative to build the turf was the growing number of club sports and recreation activities on campus.
“On any given weekday there is not enough field space to accommodate all interested groups, requiring fields to be shared” said Biddiscombe.
The new field will be able to accommodate many different activities and will significantly increase activity space for various outdoor programs, therefore reducing fall and spring scheduling conflicts.
Planning for the new field began about two years ago. The project was completely funded by gifts from alumni, parents and friends of Wesleyan Athletics, which amounted to $920,000 in private donations. The University hopes to raise an additional $300,000 to outfit the field with lights, bleachers, a scoreboard, and protective netting.
“We are planning to use the field sometime in April depending on weather conditions that may impact the construction time table,” said Biddiscombe.
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