Teams Pushed Off Fields After Summer Drought

Due to the extreme drought that the town of Exeter has experienced in recent months, water usage at the Academy has been restricted and its athletic fields have suffered. After a winter of minimal snowfall followed by an abnormally dry summer, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services issued an official drought alert for most of the state on August 3.

There is currently a precipitation deficit of over 20 inches for 2016 and the Exeter River, already affected by dam work, has gone down several inches in the past few weeks alone. Furthermore, the gauge that monitors how much water flows through the River has reported the lowest amount in a 20-year history. Since last Tuesday, drought conditions have escalated from severe to extreme and are expected by climate experts to persist late into the fall.

As water levels decrease and Exeter must rely on its surface water, the town is primarily concerned with providing good, safe water. Therefore, in an attempt to preserve access to such water, the town placed municipal water users under mandatory water restrictions.

“The ongoing drought affected all of the natural grass athletic fields, particularly the ones that do not have irrigation systems.”

The Academy has also struggled with new regulations adopted by the town of Exeter last spring restricting all fertilizer use in the Aquifer Protection Area, which includes the entire PEA athletic field complex. According to Johnson, “these rules present new challenges to keep the turf healthy and conditions safe for field use,” particularly during a season of extreme, prolonged drought.Roger Johnson, Senior Manager of Grounds and Athletics, explained that even prior to the water ban, “the ongoing drought affected all of the natural grass athletic fields, particularly the ones that do not have irrigation systems.” This includes fields south of Phelps Stadium and the Day Fields near the Grainger Observatory. Now, given the recent implementation of the water ban, these fields have suffered even more.

It will be difficult for the fields to survive excessive use from athletic teams practicing on them. Sydnee Goddard, science instructor and JV field hockey coach, observed that the fields will not be able to tolerate this amount of stress and “are likely to get destroyed with kids running around on them.” Likewise, Johnson predicted that “the existing turf will go into dormancy or dry out because of water deficiency, then bare spots will develop on the fields, especially where there is heavy use from practice drills.” The continuation of the drought through the next several months will only further weaken the athletic fields.

In the hopes of protecting the fields most at risk, measures have been put in place to limit their use. The varsity boys’ and girls’ soccer teams were asked to practice on different fields for a week in order to preserve their regular fields for games throughout the season. This was in part due to the extensive work put into those fields over the summer. Phelps West, where the girls’ team practices, was redone and new sod put in place. Director of Athletics Shane LaPointe explained, “we want the new sod to take root and water helps with that.” The Lovshin field, where the boy’s team usually plays, is sand-based, which lends itself to drainage but if there is a shortage of water, it suffers from lack of water retention. These two fields in particular need special attention and care, which is why the soccer teams were temporarily moved to other fields. However, LaPointe confirmed that both fields are back in use, and coaches and teams are “very well aware that they need to be mindful of how they use the field.” This means distributing their drills to different parts of the fields and “really trying to move around so that no piece of the field gets too worked over,” LaPointe said.

Though the soccer teams were only asked to stay off their regular fields for a week, this request was not met agreeably by some. Senior Quentin DiStefano, who is captain of the boys’ varsity soccer team, complained that “the soccer team was not allowed to use our usual field and as a result we had to play on an inadequate playing surface.” He went on to say that even the field they were moved to was “visibly affected by the drought.” In turn, the poor conditions of the fields have affected their playing. Lower Jonah Johnson described the track field as “very dry, which causes the grass to be very stiff, which affects our touches.”

Senior and soccer captain Tarek Khartabil also noted the lifelessness of the grass on the track field. “Even the temporary fields that we used behind the stadium during preseason were not only half dead, but the surface itself was very hard,” he said, recalling an instance when he heard a football player fall after a tackle and “it sounded like they hit concrete.” DiStefano also felt the field conditions made it “tough for us to train smoothly.” He continued, emphasizing his frustration at passing the ball to his teammate and having the ball bounce more than usual. “Regardless, we are working through it and hope to see an improvement.”

However, these steps could be merely the first of many if conditions on the natural turf fields deteriorate due to the drought, as they are anticipated to. Teams may need to begin more use of the synthetic turf on Hatch Field and Phelps Stadium to help preserve the natural grass fields. These synthetic fields can tolerate daily practices from multiple teams while still remaining in adequate condition for games. Some coaches have expressed concerns about the condition of the natural grass fields, and the athletic department has had to explain the consequences of overuse during a drought, including rapid deterioration of the turf.

Ultimately, the Athletic department may need to develop rotating schedules on the synthetic turf fields, so that all teams can be accommodated for their practices. This would limit the amount of time teams could practice on a daily basis and possibly prove detrimental to their performance throughout the season. Goddard, whose team practices on the Hatch Field, said that she is not currently affected by the drought but if these restrictions were actualized, “all of the programs may be affected.” However, LaPointe remains optimistic about the condition of the fields. “Our fields have held up really well despite the lack of rain,” she remarked, adding that “we’re actually in better shape than most schools in the area.” LaPointe expressed gratitude for facilities management, who have been “phenomenal to work with.” She also pointed out that last winter, most of the US was in a drought and New England was the only place that was not. “This is our turn now, and our turn really hasn’t been that bad,” she said.