With yet another incident of vandalism to the soccer pitch and surrounding area at Tyndall Park last month, Sidney-based soccer company Scoremaster Goals has offered a $1,000 to anyone with information that leads to an arrest.
On Feb. 26, Scoremaster donated soccer nets to Saanich Fusion FC community soccer club, replacing three soccer nets that were cut by vandals during Christmas break in 2013.
There have been several incidents of property damage at Tyndall in the past 14 months since. It’s prompted Scoremaster president David Smith to kick in the $1,000 reward.
“I think the reward is important in this case to provide some incentive to get to the bottom of this,” Smith said. “Obviously it’s a group of people and they really need to be flushed out.”
Recurring damage includes injury to younger trees along the Tyndall turf’s fence line as well as sign defacing, a broken table, strewn garbage and slashes to the artificial turf, all in addition to the cut nets.
In early February, someone twisted and stomped on a young tree with a diameter of about four inches, a petty act that likely took two or more people, said Saanich Fusion president Barrie Keefe, who is grateful for the donation.
“It’s frustrating stuff that keeps happening, costing us money, it just keeps resurfacing,” Keefe said. “You can see it takes a few people to do some of the stuff, all of it which happens after dark when the lights are out.”
Keefe’s guess is the culprits are a group of restless teenagers or college-age young adults from the Gordon Head neighbourhood and he’s hoping they’ll either stop or get caught before it costs the club more money. The donated nets would have sold for about $1,200 retail.
“Donating the nets was the obvious thing to do,” Smith said. “We need to get back to that type of core value. I’m in the business and it’s payback, poor kids lost their nets, we have a community that when someone needs something, people pay it forward.”
Scoremaster Goals produces aluminum soccer and field hockey goal frames, among other products (such as suspension seats for U.S. Navy Seal speedboats), at its Sidney production house. Their aluminium frames can be found at Topaz field, City Centre Park, Tyndall Field and on the turf fields of the University of Victoria. The nets are brought in from Parksville, Vancouver and also from out of province to suit each frame.
If anyone has information or knows of any similar incidents that have occurred in the area, they can call Saanich police at 250-475-4321.
reporter@saanichnews.com