B9

by dwayne tingley
times & transcript staff

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Moncton High Purple Knights won the New Brunswick High School Football League championship this season -- not bad for a team that practised every day in a swamp.

Only small sections of the Moncton High field on Church Street were used for practice and even those areas had deep ruts that were soggy and dangerous.

There were many other parts of the old field, encircled by a worn-out cinder track, that were completely unfit for standing never mind athletic activity.

Considering the football team had to share this boggy relic with the school's soccer teams, it's a small wonder Moncton High did not lead the world in broken legs and ankles this fall.

With all this in mind, an ambitious group of Moncton High alumni has started a $100,000 fundraising campaign to repair the field.

Campaign spokesman Chris West, who is also a teacher at the school, said the existing field needs an upgrade to current standards so Moncton High teams can actually practise safely and play their home games there.

Moncton High teams currently have to play their home games at neutral sites, including Rocky Stone Memorial Field for football and the CN Sportplex for soccer.

West said $100,000 may not be enough to complete the necessary work, but officials on the alumni committee are working on a plan to approach provincial and municipal officials in an effort to land additional funding.

"We are going to do our best to make this dream a reality," West said.

"The current feeling among alumni is positive and this is the biggest fund-raising program since the gymnasium was built 20 years ago," he said.

"We will not be able to reach our goals without community business and alumni sponsors," added West, who graduated from Moncton High in 2000 and played baseball and volleyball with the Purple Knights.

The fund-raising campaign begins Jan. 2 from 6-9 p.m. at Navigator's Pub in downtown Moncton. Plans for the Ed Skiffington Alumni Field will be released at that time.

An alumni weekend is also planned for Aug. 27-28. A mixer and dance are scheduled and alumni from Moncton High and Harrison Trimble will play a football game.

"We are also working on pub nights, auctions, other social events to promote Moncton High's 75th anniversary," West said.