The Harwood field hockey field has been repaired following vandalism that took place October 6 and October 13. Over the two consecutive Thursdays, somebody drove over the field located in the infield of the school’s track and “turfed” it, according to Harwood athletic director Sue Duprat.
The driver of the unidentified vehicle spun out, did donuts and tore up the turf. Damage to the fields caused by the first incident was repaired without any lost time on the field; the second incident, however, resulted in relocated home games.
“The field was so wet, and we got so much more rain, we couldn’t get anyone on there to get it repaired; we had to play our Montpelier game at Montpelier yesterday and were fearful we would have to play at least one other one on the road, but our awesome physical plant staff (in particular Sean O’Brien) put in extra time on Saturday (and maybe even Sunday) and Monday, and got the field playable,” Duprat said.
She continued, “It is sad to see our beautiful field with huge scars on it, and our team and coaches are understandably upset at this affront.Our community has gone through a lot this fall, and our kids and teams want to feel that our school is a safe and comforting place. This kind of thoughtless vandalism has the effect of kicking us in the shins.”
“Hopefully, we will be able to prevent unauthorized vehicles from going on our fields again,” Duprat said.
On Tuesday, October 18, the field hockey team hosted St. Johnsbury at 4 p.m. for the team-organized “play for the cure” game to raise awareness and money for breast cancer. Team members wore pink T-shirts as the game uniform and played with a pink ball; players also arranged a bake sale to raise funds for breast cancer research.
