News Sports turf
Petition circulating among students to acquire a sports field for high school in Hamiliton

Out of all the public high schools in Hamilton, Ont., only one exists without a sports field of its own.

Bernie Custis Secondary School is without such a facility, but a couple of enterprising students at the school have taken matters into their own hands in hopes the school will someday soon get a field of its own. The students have amassed nearly 400 signatures on a petition to begin the process of getting a sports field.

The students say the lack of a field is a barrier to their high school experience. The school’s teams can access the artificial Tim Hortons Field adjacent to the school, but it is off limits for physical education classes. For such classes, students are confined indoors. The availability hours of use at Tim Hortons Field is mostly provided during the summer when classes aren’t in session.

A grassy area with berms exists on the school property – the berms could be removed – that could be transformed into a field, but the students feel it’s merely a band-aid solution.

Plans were to construct a nearby park that would have a field – located about a 15-minute walk away – but various setbacks have delayed any work until at least 2025.