Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Youth Sports Field Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Local coach seeks park use for middle-school rugby practices, spring tournament
Summary
Nate Strack asked the Columbia City Park Board for use of one field two evenings per week in April and May, plus one weekend in May to host a youth rugby event; board members asked for proof of insurance and said they would review field availability.
Nate Strack, a community coach and resident, asked the Columbia City Park Board on Jan. 27 for permission to use a Columbia City park field twice weekly for middle-school rugby practices and to host one weekend event in May.
Strack said he expects “somewhere between 15 to 25 players in this initial season” and is seeking space for practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays “from 6 to 8 or dark, whichever comes first.” He said the program would be boys-only initially and that Rugby Indiana and USA Rugby would provide umbrella insurance, with the parks listed as a rider. “Their liability insurance…would have the parks as a rider on that insurance,” Strack said.
The request matters to the board because it would add a new organized youth sport to spring field use while overlapping with existing baseball and softball seasons. Strack said the group would need one regular practice field for April and May and one grass surface plus a second field on a Sunday during a weekend event, which he expects could fall “right around…Memorial Day-ish.”
In explaining safety and governance, Strack said Rugby Indiana operates under USA Rugby and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee umbrella and requires all adults who interact with children to be “safe sport certified.” He also told the board that a certified athletic trainer, likely through Parkview Sports Medicine, would be on-site for the Sunday event.
Board members and staff raised scheduling and liability questions. Park staff said Columbia City is “going through a soccer transition” and that only the main football field and practice field are routinely marked in spring because other fields at the site “are all wet and can get tore up pretty pretty quickly,” so availability would need to be checked. The board requested a certificate of insurance; a staff member noted the park is generally not liable for injuries “unless something is broken or it's our fault,” and said the club must provide proof of insurance.
Strack said he would follow up by email with insurance documents and contacts at Rugby Indiana; the board agreed to discuss field availability and follow up at a later meeting or by email.
No formal permissions or permits were granted at the meeting; the item was for discussion and follow-up.
