HomeNewsArticle Display

Football season disrupted, co-ed softball canceled

  • Published
  • By Mike W. Ray
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Damage to light poles at the sports complex in the northwest corner of the base has disrupted the spring flag football season after just one playoff game, and an intramural co-ed softball season has been canceled.

A 65-foot metal pole at softball field No. 2 blew over in high wind April 27, apparently because of a stress fracture at its base, according to Kevin Rayburn of Tinker Support Services; the pole crashed into the outfield along the first-base line.Subsequently, stress fractures were detected in several other light poles at the softball complex.

Consequently, the 72nd ABW Safety Office declared all four softball fields off-limits until June 1 at the earliest, according to Lt. Col. Ralph Hawkins, commissioner of the base flag football league and of the co-ed softball program, too.


In addition, an inspection team intended to examine all of the light poles around the base football field and running track "to determine how many of those, if any, also need to be fixed," Hawkins reported Wednesday.

All of the light poles at the football and softball fields were installed after the May 3, 1999, tornado which "tore that section of the base apart," Hawkins recalled.

Part of the pole that blew over last Friday may be salvaged, but all eight lights attached to a crossbar atop the post were destroyed when the pole hit the ground. The pole took down a couple of sections of chain-link fence, too. The light pole will have to be removed from the field with a 50,000-pound crane, which may take awhile because the field was saturated by recent rain storms. In addition, it may be several weeks before the light pole is replaced, Rayburn indicated, because a new one had to be ordered.

If the sports complex light-pole repair project extends into the summer months, "that will affect the intramural softball season" scheduled in June, July and August, Hawkins noted.

An intramural co-ed softball season planned for April and May already has been canceled. The April games were washed out by rainy weather, and now the May games have been suspended, too, because of the problem with the lights and because recent rains left water standing in all four softball infields Monday.

The dilemma with the lights also interrupted the spring flag football season. Three games in Round 2 of the playoffs were slated to be played Tuesday evening in the outfield of softball field #2, but were postponed because of the damage to the lights. A decision on what to do about the rest of the spring football season was pending at presstime.

Spring 2012 flag football games were relocated to softball field #2 two months ago because of extensive damage to the base football field.

Steve Serrette of the 72nd Air Base Wing Safety Office said Tuesday the football field would remain closed until funds to fix it become available. The Safety Office closed the field March 9 because of "hazardous conditions," including a leaking water line, potholes and uneven patches in the playing area.