Sports

Watch Highlights of the Watertown Summer Basketball League Playoffs.

By |

The Watertown Summer Basketball League playoffs tipped off this week, and there were some upsets in the first round. 

See highlights from the four first round match ups. Games are played at the court next to the Watertown Boys & Girls Club and Saltonstall Park. The semifinals continue Thursday night with game two at 8:20 with Zards vs. Donohue’s Kaos and Made Men against HBC at 9:15. Top seeds Zards heads to semis after win over New Day.

Around Town

Watertown Park Hosting Basketball Tournament with Prizes, Raffles, More

By |

A 5-on-5 basketball tournament will be held at Casey Park in Watertown with a cash prize for the winning team and raffles and activities through the day. 

The Second Annual 5-on-5 Mobar Classic Basketball Tournament will take place on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017 form 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Casey Park, 124 Watertown Street. The winning team will take home a $3,000 prize, and there will be a special guest. There will be food, raffles, music, and activities for kids. Mobar Mobile Barbershop is based out of Waltham and cuts their clients include some members of the Boston Celtics.

Government

Victory Field Basketball Court to be Moved Slightly, New Storage Approved

By |

The basketball court at Victory Field will be moved farther from the backyards of neighbors and new, more attractive storage for athletic equipment will be installed in a different location. The Ad Hoc Committee on Victory Field Phase 2 continued its examination of what should happen to the track and courts area of the complex on Orchard Street. Having previously dealt with renovating the track and deciding against putting up netting around the track to stop soccer and lacrosse balls, on Tuesday night the group discussed the tennis and basketball courts and storage containers at at Victory Field. Basketball Court
One of the most popular parts of Victory Field is the basketball court, which sits at the end of the five tennis courts and next to the back driveway. Pickup games are played almost year-round, neighbors said, but the games also creates a lot of noise for those living near the court.

Gymnastics

Watertown Gymnast Competed Against Nation’s Best at Junior Olympics

By |

Watertown’s Bridget Sullivan recently traveled to Michigan to compete against the top gymnasts of her age at Junior Olympic Competition. 

The 14-year-old has had a successful season. She qualified for Level 9 Junior Olympic Competition Eastern Nationals – the highest level for her age – for the first time. During the competition she placed seventh place in the vault with a score of 9.475 out of 10, said her coach, Jen Scannell. The competition was held at the Summit Sports and Ice Complex in Lansing, Mich. “It was cool to see how the different gymnasts from around the country were competing different skills,” Sullivan said.

Sports

Two Youth Hockey Players Taking Their Game to China for International Tourney

By |

Two young hockey players from Watertown will travel all the way to China to take on teams from around the world later this month. 

James O’Connor and Matthew Brown will lace up their skates to play for the Boston MaxPro Jets in the CCM Beijing Invitational tournament, where dozens of teams in a variety of age groups will face off. O’Connor is a forward who will be starting seventh grade at Boston College High School in the fall. Brown plays forward and is going into seventh grade at St. Agnes School in Arlington. The Jets will play other teams made up of players born in 2005 – 11 and 12 year olds.

Government

Netting at Victory Field Track Scrapped, Walkers to be Prohibited at Certain Times

By |

The Victory Field Committee made compromises when addressing safety of Victory Field by voting against having netting on the ends of the field, but the compromise also means that the track will be closed to walkers during certain times while high school teams use the field. When deciding whether to put up the safety netting, the Ad Hoc Committee on Victory Field Phase 2 tried to balance the needs of athletic teams using the track and turf area inside with the needs of people using field as a public park. For years the oval area has served as home to the Watertown track and field team, and the field inside the track is used by both high school and youth sports groups. The facility is also part of the Watertown park system, and the track is a popular place for residents to walk and run. A proposal by designers at CDM Smith made two years ago, when the project was first discussed, includes netting at the ends of the field to protect users of the track from flying balls – particularly lacrosse and soccer balls.

Letters

LETTER: Don’t Sacrifice the Open Space Feel of Victory Field for Athletics

By |

I attended one of the June subcommittee meetings on Victory Field renovations.  As with many projects, it is difficult to organize the “general public” to attend. And it is natural that those whose work is directly affected (sports directors from high school, recreation dept. and youth) are an integral part of this project, and will speak in favor of their needs. But in the effort to accommodate their needs, we can lose the identity of this open space, which has served the general public for decades, improving health and building community, in an informal way. By adding many fixed physical objects to the field for organized sports, we may make the field uninviting for casual play, and we may lose flexibility to use this space for future needs.