Vandals Wreck Sports Ground

Vandals Wreck Sports Ground: HB Regional Sports Park management and users are understandably unhappy that over the weekend hoons in vehicles have ripped up one of the grassed playing fields.

For what was probably a few minutes of “fun”, these vandals have destroyed weeks of work that went into preparing the field, ruined a season of sport that players would have had on the pitch and cost the park a lot of money.

The damage is going to take the rest of the playing season to fix.

All for what? And why?

Rugby League Hawke’s Bay chairman Kevin Tamati has referred to the vandals as “idiots”. I doubt anyone will argue with him.

“While the vast majority of us would see the harm in wrecking a public playing field, there is a brainless minority that sees a grassed area as a chance to use their vehicle like a roundabout in a kids’ playground.

And any grassed area seems to be fair game … reserves and domains, picnic areas, river berms, school fields. I can’t understand someone that could delight in trashing what belongs to all of us. Where’s the pride in turning an expanse of grass into a swampy, muddy mess?

While all around us last weekend there were volunteers planting and beautifying our parks and reserves, why would you prefer to cause ugliness and ruin?

Not to mention that it’s illegal.

I have a suggestion – if these infantile souls like to go round and round, perhaps they could wait until all the smaller children have gone home from the playgrounds and they could spin on roundabouts all they like. Or go really high on the swings if it’s thrills they are after.

And they wouldn’t be breaking the law, exactly, though some playgrounds do have an age limit so that should give them a frisson of guilt, if that’s what they are after.

Or – and here’s an idea I bet none of them have thought of – they could grow up, act their ages and respect people’s property. Maybe even take up a sport and enjoy the playing fields in a whole – and wholesome – new way?”