sports

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Northern Va. Senior Olympics Come to Arlington — The Northern Virginia Senior Olympics will kick off tomorrow (Saturday) with a day-long track-and-field competition at Thomas Jefferson Community Center (3501 2nd Street S.). The Senior Olympics, which utilize several venues from around Northern Virginia, run from Sept. 15-26. Other events planned at the community center include basketball next Saturday, Sept. 22.

District Taco Not Launching a Food Truck — District Taco owner Osiris Hoil says he plans to continue using food carts, as opposed to larger food trucks, since Arlington is now enforcing a stringent one hour street parking rule for mobile food vendors. In addition to a food cart, District Taco also operates two successful brick and mortar restaurants. [Washington Examiner]

Apology for Network Issues — ARLnow.com has experienced network problems that made our site unreachable for many readers on two separate days this week. We would like to apologize to all readers affected by the problems. Also, we would like to thank our advertisers, who make this site possible, for sticking with us during that time. New infrastructure is now in place to make sure these problems (hopefully) never happen again.

Wakefield Will Remember the Titans After 73-0 Loss

By ARLnow.com

The Wakefield Warriors varsity football squad suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the T.C. Williams Titans on Thursday night.

Wakefield lost its season opener 73-0, with all of the Titans’ points scored in the first three quarters of the game, in front of a home crowd in Alexandria. It’s an even more convincing defeat than the 51-7 result from last year’s season opener between the two teams. Wakefield has not had a winning football season since 1983, according to Connection Newspapers sports reporter Jon Roetman.

Yorktown High School, which is coming off an undefeated regular season that led to a disappointing defeat in the regional championships, bested opponent Bowie, Md. by a score of 42-28 on Friday. Though they ultimately won by a comfortable margin, the Patriots were assessed 101 yards in penalties throughout the game. Yorktown will play an away game at Wakefield this coming Friday, Sept. 7.

In other football action in Arlington, the Bishop O’Connell High School Knights defeated Bishop Ireton 27-12 at home on Friday, in the school’s new stadium, and the Washington-Lee Generals lost to the McLean Highlanders at home on Thursday, by a score of 14-12.

Improvements Coming to Wakefield Sports Facilities

By Katie Pyzyk

As the start of school lingers right around the corner, improvements have been confirmed for the sports facilities at Wakefield High School. Although some of the renovations won’t be completed in time for the 2012-2013 sports season, others are just weeks away from implementation.

Last week, Wakefield Principal Dr. Christian Willmore met with parents and discussed the issue, according to Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia. On Monday (August 27), Willmore joined Student Activities Director Noel Deskins in issuing a letter to the Wakefield community, outlining scheduled improvements.

The letter said, “As you visit the stadium this fall for various games and activities, you will notice that it may not look the best! The stadium was impacted by the 2011 earthquake, construction, and now the derecho! We ask that you please excuse the mess as we work with APS in making necessary updates to the stadium.”

The letter continued by outlining renovations underway or soon to come. An excerpt from the letter’s list of upgrades follows:

  • The turf along the tennis court fence has already been repaired
  • New Bleachers (yes, on both sides) total seating 2200 – by June 2013
  • New Press Box with a video filming platform for coaches, heating, AC, and an upgrade in our audio system – by June 2013
  • New Stadium Scoreboard has been ordered – expected delivery sometime in October 2012. The scoreboard will be an updated version with LED lights, trumpet horn, 1 tenth digit, time out display, WAKEFIELD inserted in place of HOME, and a name plate above the board reading HOME OF THE WARRIORS (and in Wakefield Green of course). By the way, the current scoreboard does work and we will use it until the new one arrives!

Some parents had previously expressed discontent over the facilities having fallen into such disrepair, and questioned why improvements didn’t appear to be included in the $118 million plan for a new Wakefield school building. Comparisons have been made to facilities at Yorktown and Washington-Lee High Schools, with some parents claiming Wakefield’s needs are being overlooked.

A disgruntled tipster told ARLnow.com yesterday, “The new Wakefield facility currently under construction does not have any plan for the football field and surrounding structures. County officials cite tight budgets for the lack of a plan, but many in the Wakefield community just feel jerked around; something county officials wouldn’t dare to do with the Yorktown or W&L communities.”

Echoing the discontent, the “Friends of Wakefield HS Stadium” Facebook page launched last month. In its “About” section, the page states, “We are residents of Arlington County, who would like to see the stadium at Wakefield High School upgraded to the same standard as W-L and Yorktown.” Posts have been added sporadically, highlighting issues such as the desire for a new concessions stand and restrooms in the stadium.

For a large part, the most highly requested improvements listed on the Facebook page were addressed in the letter sent to parents this week. That includes a section mentioning the possibility of a new concessions stand and restrooms which reads: “Discussions continue with APS in regards to possible replacement of concession stand and rest rooms inside stadium area.”

Photos (below) via Facebook

 

Crystal City to Host Sand Volleyball Games

By Katie Pyzyk

Volleyball teams are gearing up to hit the sand in Arlington, in the shadows of the high rise buildings of Crystal City.

DC Social Sports Club games are scheduled to be played at the sand courts at 2451 Crystal Drive, starting the week of September 10. During registration, teams choose to play on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays or Sundays. All teams are co-ed.

The league fee includes seven games, all equipment, DC Social t-shirts, a site supervisor and access to DC Social parties. Online registration is still open for teams or individuals searching for a team.

Plans are currently in the works another sports endeavor — field hockey — at nearby Long Bridge Park. Due to scheduling conflicts while reserving the turf fields there, field hockey won’t begin until spring of 2013.

Other DC Social Sports Club leagues throughout Arlington that still have late summer and early fall openings are listed online.

Disclosure: Crystal City Business Improvement District is an ARLnow.com advertiser.

Tri360 Opening Soon in East Falls Church

By ARLnow.com

A new store specializing in outfitting those who compete in triathlons is expected to open soon in East Falls Church.

Tri360 is located at 2121 N. Westmoreland Street, just off of the W&OD Trail. The store is built, stocked and ready for customers, but it’s awaiting its Certificate of Occupancy from Arlington County before it can open, according to the Tri360 Facebook page.

Tri360 will sell athletic apparel, accessories and shoes, and will also feature a “full-service” bike store — everything a triathlete needs to swim, cycle and run.

The store’s owners are hoping to be open by the end of the month.

Photo via Facebook

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Fall Sports Registration Begins Tomorrow — Registration for fall sports and classes in Arlington begins tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8:00 a.m. The fall 2012 “Enjoy Arlington!” catalog is available online. [Department of Parks and Recreation]

Arlington Devises Runoff Plan — Arlington has devised a plan for reducing stormwater runoff to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater is one of the largest sources of pollutants in the bay. Among other methods, Arlington is planning to reduce runoff by creating more stormwater-retaining greenscapes in public right of ways. [Washington Post]

APS Gets New Instruction Chief — Donna Snyder, formerly the interim principal at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School, has been named the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction for Arlington Public Schools. [Arlington Mercury]

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann

Charity Kickball Tournament Returns to Arlington

By Margaret Doyle

The seventh annual Safe at Home! Kickball Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 4 in Arlington.

Since 2006, the event has benefited the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless. The non-profit organization provides transitional housing for homeless families in Northern Virginia.

The event will be held from from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Long Bridge Park, near Crystal City. Previously, the tournament was held at Arlington’s Barcroft Park.

Over the last six years, the competition has nearly tripled in size to 25 teams and 375 players. Organizers say they expect this year to be the biggest yet.

The all-day charity event is open to the public. For spectators, there will be music, free parking, face painting, and food from a number of local vendors. Raffle prizes will be presented, and a misting tent and bottled water will be available.

For those who want to play, teams are registered by their captain. The cost for a 10-to-15 member team is $750, and each member will receive a Safe at Home! T-shirt.

Prizes will be awarded to the top two teams, as well as two MVPs. The event still needs volunteers for setting and cleaning up, as well as raffle donations. Anyone seeking more information is asked to contact [email protected].

Photo via Safe at Home Kickball Tournament

United Social Sports Expands into Arlington

By ARLnow.com

This list of adult social sports leagues in Arlington is growing.

United Social Sports, which hosts most of its competitions in the District, is expanding in Arlington this summer. USS will offer a number of options for recreational competitors, including:

  • Soccer (Long Bridge Park, Crystal City)
  • Grass Volleyball (Gateway Park, Rosslyn)
  • Bocce (Gateway Park, Rosslyn)
  • Outdoor Dodgeball (Arlington YMCA, Virginia Square)
  • Cornhole (Gateway Park, Arlington)
  • Kickball (Long Bridge Park, Crystal City)
  • Skeeball (Continental Lounge, Rosslyn)

Sand volleyball and softball are also expected to be offered, though the location of each is listed as To Be Determined.

USS joins several organizations that already host recreational and social sport leagues in Arlington, including NAKID Social Sports, the World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA), DC Bocce League and the Arlington Athletic and Social League (AASL).

USS founder Robert Albrecht says the league is all about having fun and making friends. Details like team uniforms, game scheduling and drink specials after the games are taken care of by USS.

“You just show up, play, and meet new people,” he said.

Registration Open for Youth Australian Footy Program

By Katie Pyzyk

A little bit of Australia is coming to town. A youth Australian rules football program is about to begin its 7th year in Arlington.

Registration is now open for Saturday Morning Footy, which kicks off on June 16 in Bluemont Park. The free program runs for six weeks, and is open to boys and girls ages 5-15. Kids will be divided up for different activities based on age.

The sessions will teach basic rules of the game and work on honing skills. Younger kids will participate in non-contact footy games and older kids will play tag games. Parents are also able to participate in many of the activities.

The program’s website says footy is the most popular sport in Australia, and describes it as a mix of soccer, basketball and volleyball. Organizer Chris Adams says the program is “unique in the United States” and brings in kids from a variety of different backgrounds.

“Over the last 6 years, hundreds of children from Arlington and the Washington D.C. area have participated in the program… many of them children of Australian military families stationed temporarily in the area,” Adams said. “Other children have had connections to Australia through parents or time spent stationed at U.S. bases in Australia.  Many other children have attended simply because friends have told them it is fun!”

Local Sport Stacker Wins World Title, TV Appearance

By Katie Pyzyk

The 11-year-old Arlington kid who won a sport stacking championship in Colorado in March has racked up a new title.

William Polly, of Penrose, has been named World Sport Stacking Champion for the second year in a row. That’s according to The Wauneta Breeze, a local newspaper in the Nebraska town where Polly’s grandparents live.

Not only did Polly capture the coveted Individual All-Around honors at the tournament — with a combined time of 9.34 seconds in the 3-3-3, 3-6-3 and cycle sequences — but he’s also getting another TV appearance out of it.

Tomorrow, Polly is scheduled to appear on Live! With Kelly, where he’ll challenge host Kelly Ripa to a timed cup stacking competition. It won’t be the first time Polly has appeared on national television; last year he showed off his skills on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

This year’s World Sport Stacking Association tournament was held in Butzbach, Germany. Despite the fact that there are active stacking competitors in 19 countries, this was the first time the international, invite-only competition has been held outside the United States. Polly was one of 250 participants.

Local ‘Sport Stacking’ Champ Sets More Records

By ARLnow.com

Last time we checked in with William Polly, the 10-year-old Penrose resident had just set a new sport stacking world record and was showing off his skills on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Polly, now 11, is still up to his winning ways in the world of sport stacking — a competitive sport that involves stacking cups in set formations — or “sequences” — as quickly as possible.

Last month Polly set a new world record in the “individual cycle” competition. Unfortunately, his record was quickly broken by fellow young sport stacking phenom, William Orrell.

Then, at a national competition in Colorado Springs last weekend, Polly tied a world record in the 3-6-3 sequence (see video, above) and set a record with three fellow stackers in the 3-6-3 relay.

Polly now has his name on three of the five sport stacking world records.

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