The Sunshine Coast Men’s Fastball Association says it’s been blindsided by the District of Sechelt’s rejection of their application to play at Hackett Park, and it’s hoping to get the decision reversed.
In a letter dated Jan. 24, the district said following a review of its facilities it would “no longer be approving use of Hackett Park for certain sports functions.”
The letter goes on to say fastball games in particular have led to complaints.
“Over the past number of years, we have received public complaints of damage as a result of pop fast balls leaving the park and landing on residential property, including vehicles being damaged due to balls hitting them. To avoid the potential for more serious claims of injury, we will in future be approving fastball at Kinnikinnick Sports Fields only.”
The district did not give details of the complaints.
“If a ball hits a windshield, it could just as easily hit a person walking by,” said Julie Rogers, Sechelt’s communications manager. “It wasn’t based on anything other than safety. These are men hitting balls really hard, and they are going over the fence, and that neighbourhood is getting busier and busier every year.”
Association representative Mike Fawcus said the men’s fastball league has been playing at Hackett Park for more than 50 years, and he’s not aware of any incidents that have led to claims against its liability insurance.
He also rejects the district’s suggestion that increased density in the neighbourhood raises the risk. “There hasn’t been increased density around Hackett Park,” he said. “Yes, balls do occasionally leave the field. They have the entire time I’ve ever played or been a spectator.”
Fawcus said the association is disappointed they weren’t contacted earlier. “If there were safety concerns, why not bring them forward to us and have us try to remediate those?”
Rogers said the nature of the safety concerns doesn’t leave much room for remediation.
Although the district’s letter makes no mention of complaints about drinking or public urination, in a response to Facebook comments, Rogers acknowledged the district felt it was a problem, but that it wasn’t related to the reason for moving the games to Kinnikinnick.
Fawcus said as far as the association is concerned the problem was raised, and dealt with, last season. “They brought to our attention public urination and an issue with parking improperly at the field… The public urination was, from my understanding, an incident involving some young kids who were there as spectators and I believe there was perhaps one or two players that had done the same.”
Fawcus said the teams dealt with the problem by getting a portable washroom for the diamond furthest from the permanent washroom.
The league’s situation became public late last week when long-time player and organizer Bill Stockwell created a lot of buzz with a Facebook post criticizing the decision and asking people to weigh in and post photos from league games over the years.
Stockwell told Coast Reporter the league is one of the largest and most vibrant in B.C. and there are families who’ve had three generations of players take the field at Hackett.
He also said that moving the games would isolate the players from the spectators who like to come out to the see the action.
“The community aspect is my number one concern. Don’t take it out of the community – you’ve got to keep something in the downtown core,” he said.
“We want to be able to go there and be in the town where people will gather [to watch].”
Rogers said the district feels Kinnikinnick is better suited – with more parking, lights and green space around the field that lessens the danger from stray balls.
But Fawcus and Stockwell contend Kinnikinnick is not fastball friendly, and the “green space” means foul balls are more likely to get lost, which can be costly.
The association also plays at Brothers Park in Gibsons, and Stockwell said despite that field being in a busy neighbourhood with lots of pedestrians and parked cars, there haven’t been any complaints.
Fawcus said he’s been contacted by a couple of Sechelt councillors willing to help the association work with staff to see if fastball can stay at Hackett Park, but there haven’t been any meetings or discussions.
The league doesn’t start play until late June, but field bookings have to be finalized soon.
