Organizers and residents in the Elm Park Community School Neighborhood celebrated today the renovation of the new Elm Park Community School Soccer Field. The school field had been worn away from frequent use by school students, neighbors playing soccer and WPI sports teams to the point it was frequently referred to as “the dustbowl”. Community organizing by Worcester World Cup and Cultural Exchange Through Soccer leaders successfully focused attention to the field’s deplorable condition.
Today the ribbon cutting ceremony’s microphone echoed with praise for organizers’ hard work, commitment, enthusiasm and “pushing” the City to get the field done. Although true, these words produced a strange feeling for many of the same community leaders and residents in the crowd, whose exact same work, commitment, enthusiasm and “pushing” to have Worcester’s pools repaired has been mostly ignored rather then praised.
Representatives from Worcester’s Liberian and Ecuadoran communities, regular users of the field joined voices from Cultural Exchange through Soccer in thanking City leaders and event organizers in completing the necessary field renovations.
Perhaps the top question for the day was interest in whether next year’s Worcester World Cup would be returning to the new Elm Park Community School Field or remaining at Foley Stadium next year. As it stands, the Worcester World Cup Committee is undecided needing to pay off outstanding debts still from this year’s tournament while also evaluating the $2,500 cost now necessary to rent the stadium for the tournament’s two days.
Soccer remained the buzz for the day though, leaving most feeling like this was a new beginning and next step for soccer in Worcester, not merely the completion of a three year campaign. Organizers promised that there’s still a lot to accomplish and promised both CETS and the Worcester World Cup would continue to help chart that course with others’ support. Keeping that promise, the World Cup committee announced that a ceremony honoring this year’s tournament winners, Macedonia (men) and Colombia (women) and men’s runner-ups El Salvador, will be recognized this Tuesday, October 6th at Worcester City Hall. Everyone is invited to a juggling circle outside City Hall at 6:30, followed by the ceremony inside on the 3rd floor at 7pm.
Touch-up work remains to be done on the new field, along with minor reworking of the irrigation and drainage system. The sod needs to root better so organizers, city officials and school personnel are asking eager players and teams to curb their enthusiasm and stay off the field until this spring.
Charles Artey, from the Liberian Soccer Club of Worcester addresses the crowd.
Yeahhhhhh !
Everyone helps cut the ribbon.
City Councilor Gary Rosen, who helped pull the effort together talks about how this was as much about community as it was about soccer.
Kayla Cormier, Former Elm Park Community School Student and Cultural Exchange Through Soccer Youth Leader thanks organizers for all their work.
We should never forget. This is what it was.
