It’s impossible to not have noticed the distracting yellow signs shouting, “Let’s Turf Langley!” littered throughout the Great Falls and McLean area. Sure, constructing a turf field at Langley seems original and innovative; but the question is, do we really need it?
An undertaking like this needs substantial funding, but the issue here isn’t simply that turfing Langley will be expensive; it will be unnecessary. Langley currently has one of the most pristine grass fields in the district, so there’s no need to fix what isn’t broken.
Furthermore, the money could be directed towards areas where improvement is actually needed. “There are a lot of other things within the actual building that could be fixed before one plot of land on the athletic complex,” said senior Lauren Meeker. It’s true—shouldn’t the money be spent on new science equipments? What about more mobile labs to allow students increased computer access? Why not send the students on a class field trip?
Also, how long does it even take for turf to be installed? Keeping this in mind, it would be an extra burden on the sports teams and the school as a whole surrounding the school-wide renovations in the next couple of years.
A central argument to having a turf field is that having it would prevent game cancellations due to inclement weather. However, I’ve played LHS soccer for years, and competing in the rain on a turf field is often worse than simply postponing a match. “Turf” doesn’t equal “dry”—it just means that athletes are forced to slosh around in stagnant puddles rather than wait to play the game in fair and acceptable conditions.
On langleyturf.org it is noted that an artificial field will create something in which our entire area can “take enormous pride.” Although the saxon community should definitely be rallying around Langley athletics, this pride should stem from the ability and talent of the athletes themselves, not the surface that they’re playing on.
The goal of improving our school and unifying the community is admirable—but making a useless turf field just isn’t the right way to meet it.