If you have a child who plays sports in Fairfield, you know that our fields are an embarrassment compared with our neighboring towns - Westport, Trumbull, Stratford, Milford, Orange.

Our fields are poorly cared for, rife with weeds, and crabgrass, they don't drain well, there are dangerous hazards all over the place, and they lack the basic amenities like bathroom facilities and scoreboards that make fields in other towns so much better.

Here are just a few examples that we have personally witnessed in the last month alone:

1.  At Tunxis Hill, FNLL's home field, there is an 8-10 inch hole directly in centerfield and right field slopes considerably. 

2.  The batting cages at Owen Fish Park droop so low that it's impossible for an adult coach to throw batting practice

3.  FALL was forced to use Riverfield School for baseball because of the status of Gould Manor.  Riverfield School is a skinned infield, typically used for t-ball, kid pitch and softball, not baseball above age 9

4.  Right field at Owen Fish Park has a hole so deep that the FNLL 10D all-star team had to move a game from Fairfield to Orange for fear of someone getting injured.  Owen Fish is also a skinned infield, not appropriate for baseball

5.  Sullivan Field was used so much during football season, because it's the only designated football field in town for youth sports, that there was no grass and there were so many holes that coaches feared injury 

6.  Throughout its regular season, FLLGS had to place a turf pitching mat on the field at the Sturges and Warde fields out of concern that the clay would be too torn up for the high school teams to use.

7.  FLLGS had to relocate District and Sectional all-star games away from Dougiello Park; due to poor design dating back to when it was first installed, the field still had standing water four days after it stopped raining

8.  The porta potties at Fairfield Woods Middle School hadn't been cleaned in so long that they were unusable because of the stench

9.  Most fields lack scoreboards.  In towns like Milford, Orange and Stratford, almost every field has scoreboards.  It's so frustrating that Fairfield Youth Football has offered to spend their own league money to buy a scoreboard

10.  Fairfield Youth Football purchased, at their own expense, lights for use at Tomlinson Middle School because that field currently doesn't have any

11.  Fairfield has upwards of 300% less turf field availability compared with neighboring towns like Westport, Stratford, Milford, and Bridgeport 

12.  FALL was unable to host any summer travel baseball games, despite it being their turn in the rotation, due to lack of usable fields

13.  Due to lack of playable fields, FUSA and FALL were double-permitted at Dwight Elementary and had many instances where baseballs were being hit into the soccer fields which were lined in the outfield of the baseball diamond.  This should never happen and is not safe  

We could go on and on and on.  But instead, LET'S DEMAND CHANGE.  OUR KIDS DESERVE BETTER.

If you agree that the fields in Fairfield are substandard and require a significant investment, please sign this petition, which will be delivered to First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick, the Board of Selectman, the Board of Finance, the Board of Educaiton and the RTM.

Thank you,

Fairfield Athletic Foundation

www.fairfieldaf.org