SWC revises playoff schedule in wake of storms

NEWTOWN — As both a show of unity and an effort to make the best of a bad situation, the athletic directors from the 14 high schools in the South-West Conference gathered Friday morning to put together a revised conference playoff schedule in the aftermath of Tuesday’s violent storms, which spawned three confirmed tornadoes in Connecticut, knocked out power for thousands of local residents and closed many area schools for the rest of the week.

The general mood was one of relief and reassurance as each school’s representative walked out of the Newtown Youth Academy. Measures were taken to ensure the completion of any outstanding regular-season contests in the next several days — barring any further setbacks or foul weather — followed by the the various conference playoff tournaments next week. The only exceptions are the boys and girls team tennis tournaments, which were completed Thursday at Weston High School, with the host Trojans winning both the boys and girls titles.

Even as the athletic directors met, emergency crews fanned out across the area clearing trees and debris, repairing electric and phone wires and directing traffic around hazards. Schools in Danbury, Brookfield, Bethel, New Milford, New Fairfield, Newtown, Southbury and Sherman were among those across the area that have yet to reopen since the storms hit. Several of the schools have served as emergency shelters for those without power. Further complicating matters was the fact that several schools’ athletic facilities were damaged in the storm.

“The fields themselves are playable, but there was damage to some equipment surrounding the field,” New Milford Athletic Director Keith Lipinsky said. “We lost our portable baseball and softball outfield fences, the batting cage at the softball field was completely destroyed, we had track high-jump mats and pole-vault mats blown 200 yards away from the school, a soccer goal was blown over the fence, the football uprights are bent and leaning forward, things like that. As far as the field conditions themselves, they’re going to be ready to go. It was picking up the pieces, ordering some replacement parts and all that stuff, putting the final touches on making the fields complete again.”

While the towns in lower Fairfield County weren’t hit as hard by the storms as those to the north, the ripple effects wiped out the schedule for the entire SWC.

“That’s why we had this meeting today, because emails were not going to cut it anymore in trying to figure everything out,” Notre Dame of Fairfield Athletic Director Rob Bleggi said. “Fortunately, our fields are just wet as opposed to damaged. Today was a good move forward to figure out where we’re moving ahead. The weather looks good for next week, so that’s good.”

Let’s hope so.