Déjà Vu: Mother Nature Strikes To Impact Tournaments Again

By Andy Hutchison

Score another one for Mother Nature. The defending South-West Conference playoff sleeper turned prominent figure in the road to the championships again dominated the local sports scene for at least part of the season-ending conference and state tournaments.

Hurricane Sandy (aka Frankenstorm), hit the area on October 29 and 30 and, in doing so, canceled some school and wiped out scheduled SWC tourney games.

This marks the second year in a row that local teams, including some of Newtown High School’s squads, had their postseason schedules altered significantly because of the weather. Last year’s freakish pre-Halloween snowfall — which blanketed area playing fields — temporarily put a surprise halt to the action.

Once again this fall, members of Newtown High School’s girls soccer team are among those wondering if they will even have the opportunity to play for a conference championship. Last year, the Nighthawks and fellow tourney semifinal round winner New Milford were expected to be declared co-champions because of a time crunch before the start of the state playoffs. The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference ended up, after SWC officials met and altered the conference playoff schedule, pushing back its tourney starting date, enabling the soccer teams to play their finale on November 7, four days late. It required a rare Sunday of semifinal contests which had been put on hold.

This year, the NHS girls’ soccer team, which won its quarterfinal round game on October 26, was originally scheduled to play its semifinal round contest on October 30. The Newtown girls’ volleyball team was to begin tournament play with quarterfinals on October 29. Both the girls’ soccer semis and volleyball quarters were pushed to Halloween when school was initially postponed just for just two days, October 29 and 30. But the aftermath of the storm meant a longer delay for a return to school and extended wait for teams to get back to action.

Marc Kenney, NHS girls’ soccer coach, was awaiting word as to when his team would next play, following a scheduled meeting of SWC athletic officials on November 1 (the date the girls’ soccer title game was initially to have been played).

“We’re in a little bit of a holding pattern here,” Kenney said on October 30. “Obviously the priority’s safety and families and everybody getting power back.”

Newtown High Athletic Director Gregg Simon said officials would meet at conference member Bunnell High School in Stratford to discuss options and that it was possible SWC quarterfinal and semifinal games would be played during the weekend, with championship games early this coming week.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got some practice with this,” Simon said.

The Newtown High AD also said options for upcoming regular season football games would be discussed. He added that the athletic officials would work to do what was best for the student-athletes, and remained hopeful that CIAC officials would accommodate the conferences in a timely manner, giving the athletes a chance to practice and get games in prior to the start of the state tourney.

“I hope the CIAC is going to come forward and move their tournaments back. If they push their tournaments back it makes things so much easier for us,” Simon said several hours before the CIAC did just that, making adjustments to its schedules to accommodate teams throughout the state.

The CIAC, on October 31, issued a press release announcing that a decision came after a thorough review of the calendar, discussion with tournament directors, and communication with officials at potential host sites for games.

Initially, soccer, field hockey, and volleyball state tourneys were slated to get underway November 5. Under the new schedule, the opening round games for those sports are now set for November 7, 8, or 9, depending on the sport. This frees up a few days for teams to potentially finish off their conference tourneys or, in the case of teams knocked out of conference tourney play, possibly practice before the start of the state playoffs — all contingent on schools getting back into session.

The girls’ and boys’ soccer finals are now to be played November 23 or 24, the days immediately following Thanksgiving.

“The CIAC intentionally did not schedule tournament play for the three school days prior to Thanksgiving in consideration of the many events that occur in schools during that abbreviated week, to allow for rescheduling of semifinal matches if there is inclement weather, and because school fields are being used by football teams preparing for Thanksgiving games,” the CIAC release states.

The cross country State Open championships were to take place this Friday, November 3, and were moved to Sunday,  November 4 because of the November 5 closing of site facility Wickham Park in Manchester.

Simon noted that it is unprecedented to have three major storms impact the sports schedule in two consecutive school years — and in the span of just one year. In August 2011, Tropical Storm Irene delayed the start of school and postponed fall tryouts and preseason practices.

Attempts to reach SWC Executive Secretary Pamela Goodpaster on October 31 failed when phone calls did not go through due to power outages.

Kenney, from Watertown, said his neck of the woods did not see the heavy rain accompanied by intense, damaging winds that Newtowners dealt with one year to the day snow knocked down power lines and caught road maintenance crews off guard. “I do hear Newtown’s in rough shape,” he said about this year’s playoff-altering storm.

The girls’ soccer coach is not concerned with whether or not his team gets in any practices before resuming tournament play. Last year, his squad went more than a week without practice time between quarterfinal and semifinal round games. His team won its semifinal battle before falling in the title contest.

“I just want to play the semis and the finals because we’re all in the same boat,” said Kenney, alluding to the fact the other three semifinalists — Newtown’s opponent-in-waiting Masuk of Monroe, along with Joel Barlow of Redding and Immaculate of Danbury — had no school and, thus, the opportunity to practice canceled, on Halloween.

As of Halloween Eve, Kenney didn’t know if one or any of the teams, including his for that matter, would benefit from a return from school November 1 or 2 and a chance to practice in preparation for the next game. Nor did he think it mattered if there is a level playing field.

“At this point, I’ll take a playing field. It doesn’t have to be level,” Kenney said. “If we’re good the circumstances shouldn’t affect whether we win or lose.”

The coach is hopeful that the teams have a chance to play out their conference tournament before embarking on the state title quest.

Newtown High’s girls’ volleyball team, before last year’s CIAC schedule change to accommodate the many Connecticut teams affected by the weather, was slated to play semifinal and championship round matches in the same day. The team ended up getting a day off before going on to win the conference crown. The Newtown volleyball players, since the regular season ended on October 26, have not yet had a chance to bump, set, spike the competition. Newtown’s girls’ swimming and diving team, for the second year in a row, is impacted by Mother Nature. Last year’s championships got postponed for a few days. This year’s diving finals were scheduled for October 30, with the swimming events to take place November 3. As of October 31, the swimming events were on hold and no makeup dates were announced for the divers or swimmers.

Newtown’s boys’ soccer team lost in the SWC quarterfinals on October 26, and the field hockey team did not qualify for the SWC tourney. Newtown High’s conference cross country championships took place on October 24. According to the CIAC online schedule as of October 31, the football team’s regular season is to continue, as scheduled, with a Saturday, November 3, visit to Immaculate.

Check The Bee’s sports web page or visit www.swc-ct.com and www.casciac.org for schedule updates.