Brian Colburn, president of the Wilton High School Football Boosters Association, spoke to the Board of Selectman at its meeting Monday evening, Sept. 19, to present a plan to gift football goal posts to the town for use on Guy Whitten Field. He said the proposal was generated after WHS athletic officials made a request of the boosters’ association for goal posts to be purchased and installed there.
The selectmen unanimously accepted the gift from the Booster Association.
Guy Whitten Field is a grass field located to the east of the WHS Memorial Stadium‘s Fujitani Field, just below the visitors’ side stands. It currently is used by athletes at the high school level as well as by youth sports teams.
Colburn noted that the football organization wanted to improve Guy Whitten Field in this way because now that Fujitani Field, the main turf used by the football teams, has been redone with new turf, it is in higher demand for usage by several sports teams.
“With the new turf being installed, that field is in heavy demand and quite popular. The football teams have to displace off there to give other folks a chance. So adding goal posts on Guy Whitten would give the opportunity to have an alternate practice site, and also open practice to other football teams.”
Colburn says he has done extensive research into possible field goal options. The posts being proposed are “H posts,” which are different from the posts currently in use on Fujitani Field, which are called “gooseneck posts.”
“The reason for this, and this was a request specifically from the high school staff, is that you can put these posts directly on the back end zone line of the field itself. In Guy Whitten’s case you have some tight corners, specifically on the side of the walkway by the baseball field, so you don’t have a lot of extra room to work with,” Colburn says.
He pointed out that the high school does not intend to use Guy Whitten field to play games, but that it might be used for games at the Youth Football level.
Colburn also said the plan has been reviewed by Wilton’s Parks & Recreation Department, which did have questions. The first issue raised was whether or not the posts would be removable. Colburn said that the posts would use ground sleeves, which provides the option to be able to remove the posts if desired.
He compared the gift proposal to a similar gift the football boosters recently gave to the town–a new sound system at Memorial Stadium. The posts could be ordered as soon as the boosters’ association receives all the approvals–”…within a matter of days, certainly within a week or so.” They would also be installed in time for use this season.
Colburn answered a question from first selectman Lynne Vanderslice about required permits, noting that as far as he understands, there is no need for the Boosters’ Association to get any special permits.
Vanderslice said she approved of the plan and “very much appreciate it.”
Selectman Dick Dubow asked if there were any safety concerns, to which Colburn replied that the posts would be padded, “…similar to what you see now on the turf. We would have padded collars on them.”
Vanderslice added the stipulation that should any permit be required, Parks & Rec would be the town office to pursue getting the correct permits. She also answered a concern that Dubow had about making sure the Board of Education was aware of the gift and planned post installation, noting that she would reach out to school officials.
