posted 09/04/2008
All the fields should be lined by the city but teams are reminded to double check on Friday to determine whether the fields need to be touched up in any manner. Please note that we do have matches again on Enfield Chase, Queen Anne School, Samuel Ogle MS (2 fields) and the Vista / New Town fields which will be our responsibilities. We will be required to keep these fields lined and cut weekly. We have made arrangements to have these fields lined and properly cut for the season. Please help us keep current on the status of the fields by Thursday to ensure that we have adequate time to make arrangements. There may be times to have the lines re-touched up during the weekend which will be a team responsibility. Please allow yourself enough time to get this done. .
Teams are further reminded that the first team listed on the field loading has set-up responsibility while the last team has take down responsibility. For the fields at Queen Anne School (QAS) we have installed two sets of permanent goals with nets on the fields on location for the full-sized fields. The nets will already be on the goals all season but you will have to bring flags. Huston field currently has nets attached to the goals full time, hopefully they will remain on the goals for the entire season. For the rest of the fields we will need to set-up the nets. As we did in past years, it is better for the set-up team to coordinate with the team having take-down responsibility in order to get the last team's nets and flags beforehand to set-up their nets. This solves the issue of trying to coordinate an exchange after the fact during the week and it usually assures that the nets will be taken down at the end of the day. I have provided the contact information for both clubs on the field loading chart. We currently have a great line of communication with the representatives of Freestate as well as our own teams. If you are having trouble contacting anyone from either club or having any problems / issues please let me know as soon as possible. Please double check your nets to ensure that you actually have two sets of nets in your bag and adequate Velcro / spikes to secure the nets.
Please note that at the Queen Anne School Fields it is important to stress to your opponents the necessity of following the parking guidelines and honoring the property correctly. We will be sending out more detailed instructions on where to park and parking on the facility. There is absolutely no parking on any of the grass areas. Please help us enforce this policy with our guests as well as within your OWN TEAMS. There are also strict times on when we are allowed access to the campus on Sundays. No teams may enter the complex before 12:30 on Sundays. We can not lose the privilege of using these fields.
We currently have a paint liner with paint ready for the season. Please let me know if you need to borrow a liner for touch-up purposes or lining of the field. The fields requiring the set-up of the portable goals for small-sided fields are Buckingham, QAS # 3, Vista / New Town Field, and two fields at SAMUEL OGLE. The goals are located at Bob Deegan's house (8911 Harness Way, Bowie MD 20715, 240-472-4120, or email at
). Please email him to let him know when you will be picking up or dropping ogg the goals. He usually set them out on Saturday AM unless other arrangements are made to pick-up earlier.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please inform whoever is putting these goals up for the weekend to NOT use a hammer on the base of the goals. This will permanently damage these goals. There is a large spike in each bag to be used to make a starter hole. These goals are expensive and can not be readily replaced each year. It takes at least two people to set-up / take-down. If one person attempts to take down, there is a risk that these goals will be bent and damaged which will cause them to be of no use for matches.
In order to accommodate the larger number of short-sided fields required for this season , we have added a second field to be placed on Samuel Ogle. The set-up instructions for the specific fields are the following:
Buckingham - The Buckingham field is currently lined with full-field dimensions in white paint (95x55) for the BBGC Fall Season. The plan is that we will make this a small-sized field using Yellow paint by moving the end lines up to existing 6 yd marks. The width will remain the same. We will then need to paint in yellow the 6 yd box area and 14 yd penalty area. The smaller goals should not be put inside the larger goals at Buckingham or Vista fields.
Ogle # 2 - This will be the field lined in the outfield of the baseball field closest to the school.
Ogle # 3 - This field will be lined within the large full size field "inside the football goals" ; We have made the end lines for the Short-sided field at the top of the 18 yd box of the large field. The side lines will be the same.
Please have the players / coaches set-up between the two fields as there will not be much room for spectators as the field will be lined.
Teams are reminded that it is a privilege to be able to use our existing fields. Please police the area for trash pick-up after your matches particularly the water bottles and the tape on socks on both sides of the field and deposit the trash in the trash cans. Please try and leave the field in a better condition than when you arrived. Please do not leave the trash pick-up for the last team on the field.
The City of Bowie will continue their more liberal policy on field closures this season. The City promises to post any field closings by 7:00 AM each game day on the City Field Hotline 301-262-6200; follow the menu to get to the hotline. This information can also be found on the City of Bowie Website at Ballfield Status Link . The leagues will respond to officially cancel and reschedule games by sending emails to both home and away teams. Our home teams must still contact their opponents ASAP by phon e (Within 3 Hours of game times), to ensure they are notified that games are canceled by the leagues. For Samuel Ogle, Vista and QAS school fields, I will be making the final decision on the closure of these fields.
Please remember that the home team should contact their opponent by Wednesday the week of your match to confirm the match time and location, directions to the field, and uniform colors.
Please print the Rules and Procedures posted on the website for your respective league. The leagues recommend that all managers keep a copy on the field should any questions arise.
If you are having any problems or if you have additional questions do not hesitate to contact me
Good luck this season!
