Straight-line Winds Send Scoreboard to the Ground

The athletic department rented a temporary scoreboard from York College for the fall after the original long-standing board was downed by straight-line winds.

Photo by Ben Otte

Photo by Ben Otte

By Ben Otte
Co-Editor-In-Chief

“He basically told me we have a problem with the scoreboard [it] wasn’t in its usual upright position,” Mr. Arnold Fritzius recalled after talking to Mr. Kevin Zieber, who was at Horn Field preparing for a soccer game at the time. “I really thought he was pulling my chain.”

But then as Mr. Fritzius took a quick trip to Horn Field to assess the situation, he knew he wasn’t being played by Zieber.

The structure, which had been standing for approximately 45 years now, was in fact bent over backwards thanks to severe straight-line winds that blew through the area on September 12.

“It’s bizarre how such particular updrafts pushed all of that weight over,” Fritzius pointed out.

The big question now around campus: What is the next option for a new stationary scoreboard?

The old scoreboard will not be used again, according to Fritzius. Instead, the athletic department is teaming up with 
Mr. Ben Smith of the TV studio to use this opportunity to replace a scoreboard and add video screen capabilities.

Not just any scoreboard is planned to be the replacement. In fact, Fritzius says a scoreboard with jumbo-screen-like capabilities is an option that the athletic department and the district would consider.

According to documents, such an investment could ask for prices exceeding $60,000. But despite the overwhelming amount, Fritzius says the investment would be well worth it.

“This gives us an opportunity for students to get involved and get them preperation for future careers. We could have students broadcast video feeds from the games being played through various angled cameras set up around Horn Field.”

Fritzius also adds that not only would this give the district the opportunity to highlight athletic achievement through video, but also achievement from other clubs and organizations through-out the district.

A high-end video scoreboard streams nothing but endless opportunities and excitement. But with that, must come patience.

“We want to ensure the best decision possible that will benefit the student body, as well as the community, the most,” says Fritzius.

An official proposal to start construction on a stationary scoreboard is slated for either the March 6 or March 20 school board meeting. The approved blueprints will promise a new scoreboard for the fall 2014 sports teams.

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