HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0880.002 1998-2000
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AMERICAN YOUTH SOCCER ORGANIZATION
2 _a N a nonprofit corporation dedicated to youth soccer
c-5° evelyone p1e91. HCR 2, Box 6818
FO4NDEU X96° Keaau, HI 96749
September 7, 2000
RECEfVEp .w
James Arakaki, Chairman ~f1A-----
Date_
Hawaii County Council 25 Aupunl St. County Council-
Hilo, HI 96720
SUBJECT: SOCCER FIELD IN HAWAIIAN BEACHES, PUNA
Dear Chairman Arakaki and Council Members:
Being a resident of lower Puna it's nice to hear that Councilman Al Smith is working to get things done for his
district.
However, as the Regional Commissioner of the American Youth Soccer Organization, Region 738, Puna, and the
representative for Puna AYSO, we do not support the county putting out large amounts of monies to build a
soccer field in Hawaiian Beaches. This is an out-of-the-way location and we most likely will not schedule any
soccer games there. Even practices will not be considered by the majority.
AYSO is the largest organized sports league in Puna which encompasses the areas from Volcano to Opihikao.
Because of the extreme distances of our region, we need a centralized location for all our teams to practice and
play games. Right now almost all of our 400 players on 45 different teams practice at Shipman Park. The
number of people at the field, including siblings and parents, are so large that we have had to take over the
baseball field. Baseball cannot use the field until December.
We are now playing with teams from Ka'u, Hilo, and North Hawaii (Waikoloa, Kohala, Waimea, and Honokaa). In
the spring we play interregional games and Kona is added onto our schedule. Island-wide, there are
approximately 3,500 kids playing for the American Youth Soccer Organization, and every year the numbers grow.
In order to accommodate the majority of the people on the island, we need a centralized location, not the out-of-
the-way place in Hawaiian Beaches.
Puna AYSO and the island-wide soccer community support a centralized site for soccer fields in Puna which is at
Shipman Park in Keaau. We would like the county to expand the current soccer field mauka onto the land that
was given to the County of Hawaii by Shipman for a "dedicated soccer field," not the out-of-the-way place in
Hawaiian Beaches. We hope that all council members look for the good of all our children island-wide and put
money into expanding the Keaau soccer field to make it easier for all families island-wide to participate in the
world's largest growing sport - SOCCER.
Please call me if you would like more discussion on this matter. I can be reached in the evenings at 982-7388 or
at work at 961-8412.
Sincerely,
Comm. No.
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Regional Commissioner
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