Sports

2016 Turkey Bowl Essentials: A Breakdown of New Canaan vs. Darien

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Thursday morning will mark the third straight year New Canaan and Darien collide in the Turkey Bowl as the top two teams in the state. And if the previous two Thanksgiving match-ups—both won by Darien by a score of 28-21—are any indication, this year’s game will be another classic chapter in a historic rivalry that dates back to 1928. As was the case last year, this will be the only time the No.1 Wave and No. 2 Rams face one another as Darien will defend its state Class LL title while the Rams are looking to win their fourth straight Class L crown. Even with the absence of an official FCIAC Championship game this season, stakes will be high on Thursday as the game will count toward CIAC rankings, impacting the probability of a state semifinal home game.

Government

‘The Most Safe Surface That We Can Possibly Choose’: Officials Plan To Resurface Turf at Dunning Stadium This Summer

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Focusing on a time-sensitive piece of a wider vision for the athletic fields at New Canaan High School, officials said Tuesday that they’re pursuing the re-surfacing of the turf at Dunning Stadium this summer. The life expectancy of the turf now in place at the Rams’ picturesque athletic stadium is 10 years, and Dunning is entering its eleventh year, according to Jay Egan, athletic director at NCHS. The turf at the 1997-built stadium last was replaced in 2005. Egan told the Board of Selectmen at its regular monthly meeting that this past fall he was surprised to see open seams on the turf field just before FCIAC field hockey semifinals (there turned out to be about 100 seams that needed repair). “We don’t want to be in a situation—we are not there now—but we don’t want to find ourselves in the next year or year-and-a-half—with a situation where for some reason that facility will not be able to be used,” Egan said during the selectmen meeting, held at Town Hall.

News

Ram Spirit Fund: Formal Planning, Fundraising Efforts Underway for Two New Turf Fields at NCHS

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Nearly two years after receiving municipal approvals, a plan to create two additional turf athletic fields at New Canaan High School is gaining momentum this week, as a website, formal fundraising effort, renderings and timetable for the project have materialized. Through the newly created “Ram Spirit Fund,” a committee that includes the NCHS athletic director, recreation director of the town and officials from youth field hockey, football, lacrosse and soccer groups are seeking to raise $2 million by the end of this month. With those funds in hand, the committee would put the project out to bid in May, start work in June and have the fields ready for when the next academic year kicks off in September, according to a timetable published on the website. The fields would be located across the parking lot from Dunning Field, running from the tennis courts toward Waveny. Nick Williams—both a selectman who voted in favor of the project in July 2013 and a longtime youth sports parent who has launched a website dedicated to NCHS soccer teams—said the new turf fields are “something we need in town.”

“One of the trends continuing trends that we’re seeing in New Canaan is really the explosion of girls’ sports.