We, the residents of Portugal Cove - St. Phillip's seek the enlargement of the turf field at Rainbow Gully to meet the Standards of competitive soccer play (as set out by FIFA as being 64 m x 100 m).  The PCSP Town Council was given the correct measurements by Jeff Babstock, Technical Committee Chair of the NL Soccer Association both before and during construction of the Rainbow Gully turf field however, the town proceeded in constructing the field at insufficient size for competitive soccer play (55 m x 100 m).

According to a news article in the North East Times dated August 2013, as well as an interview with Jeff Babstock on CBC radio, this field only meets requirements for recreation soccer play. Youth in our own community over the age of 12, who play competitive soccer and are representing PCSP and regional teams, must continue to play outside of their own community!  Parents and players alike have sought a venue to accommodate competitive soccer in our area, yet unfortunately they can not use Rainbow Gully for this purpose.  Many PCSP youth have been chosen to play on high caliber competitive soccer teams, and it is very unfortunate that they can not play in their own community.

Enlarging this field to meet the standards for competitive play will also attract high calibre soccer events (such as Challenge Cup games) to be held in PCSP and will directly bring revenue into our community.  This current year, several events originally scheduled for Rainbow Gully turf were cancelled and booked elsewhere since our field was not regulation size.  This resulted in lost revenue for the town as a whole.

Please sign this petition to show your support for ensuring our turf field is increased to be FIFA regulation size.  This petition will be presented to the PCSP town council with the hope of getting this major error fixed!

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