The University of British Columbia Artificial Turf Field Fund
The University of British Columbia
Supporting UBC: www.supporting.ubc.ca
May 13, 2005
Field hockey at UBC has a long and proud history. From national team members to the Olympics to national champions, the sport of field hockey has long been a source of pride for the University. UBC has produced 24 Olympians (21 men, three women), and from the 1950s to the advent of turf nearly 30 years later, UBC was at the heart of men's field hockey in Canada.
As well, women's field hockey at UBC enjoyed a long run of success both domestically and internationally. In fact, the second World Cup of women's field hockey took place at UBC in 1979, with several UBC players taking the field for Canada..More recently, the UBC women's field hockey team won back-to-back CIAU championships in 1998 and 1999, but hasn't actually had a true home field since the late 1970s, when artificial turf became the international standard for the sport.
Since both CIAU and internationally-sanctioned field hockey must be conducted on artificial turf, UBC's championship squads must rent Vancouver Parks Board fields both in order to practice and in order to host conference tournaments. In addition to being a non-entity on-campus, the lack of a home base forces both the men's and women's teams to practice and play downtown at Andy Livingstone Park, which is both a substandard field and is located on the border of one of the highest crime-rate areas in Vancouver.
Men's field hockey at UBC, meanwhile, has fallen upon harder times. Currently, the team is coached by the players themselves, and operates in relative obscurity. An artificial turf field at UBC would greatly benefit the long-suffering men's field hockey program at UBC, and could be a factor in developing much-needed funding for the men's program. A true home field would be a strong first step towards revitalizing the once-powerful program
However, a push to finally establish a permanent, on-campus home is underway. A state-of-the-art artificial turf field is slated to be built on the Logan Track behind the Allan McGavin Clinic at a cost of approximately $1.2 million, and Athletics hopes to raise enough money begin the project early next year.
The potential benefits of a turf field are far-ranging and diverse. The project will not only allow UBC's national champions to play at home, but will allow for the establishment of Canada's first National Training Centre at UBC -- a model that has worked extremely well for UBC's internationally recognized swimming program . With a National Training Centre for Field Hockey established at UBC, the Universitywould be placed firmly at the epicentre of Canadian field hockey.
In addition, the field would also serve as a revenue-generator -- with the dearth of quality fields in Vancouver, the field could be rented out for Vancouver League games or junior and high school tournaments. The field would also benefit the University's Intramurals programs, as well as other teams at UBC: both the soccer and football teams play opponents whose home field consists of artificial turf, and would be greatly helped by the ability to practice on a similar field. The turf field falls under several cateories of the University's Trek 2000 document: People, Community, and Internationalization all fit within the field's purpose and functions.
