Just how bad is the condition of the Barrington High School track oval?

Near the long jump, pole vault and high jump approaches, the surface has pulled loose from the base layer. On the turn near the 100-meter start line, a large patch that was installed last year is breaking away from the asphalt subsurface. The outside edge of track along the 100-meter straightaway is peeling up. 

The track surface drainage is failing in multiple areas. One lane is underwater when it rains. And the entire track oval is much harder than it should be. 

Barrington High School boys track coach Bill Barrass summed up the track’s condition in a recent statement he shared with members of the Barrington School Committee and the Barrington Times: “…the facility is failing, is far inferior to those of many other schools in the state, and it does not reflect the value that I believe we place on athletics and the safety and well-being of our student-athletes.”

Barrass attended the March 28 School Committee meeting and detailed his concerns. 

“We’ve reached a point of urgency,” Barrass said during the public comment period of the meeting. 

Barrington High School track teams have turned the adversity into accomplishment. Despite the suboptimal track surface, the boys and girls track teams — indoor in the winter and outdoor in the spring — are some of the best in the state. Actually, the BHS boys indoor track team proved it was the number one team in Rhode Island, as it won the state championship about a month ago. 

The track has not had a maintenance resurfacing in the last 12 years.

Barrass pleaded with school officials to address the situation as soon as possible. He praised BHS Director of Athletics George Finn for his efforts to keep the track from completely falling apart.

“It’s a miracle our track is still usable,” he said, adding that the track program can no longer wait for the track to be addressed when, and if, officials call for improvements to the BHS athletic fields.

“For years I have been asked to wait for a track rebuild until a decision is made about the field surface at Victory Field, or until it can be folded into a bond issue for high school building improvements,” Barrass wrote in his statement. “Our program can no longer continue to couple our plans for track replacement with the fields issue in town, as we wait to act, or again, not act, on recommendations from the latest iteration of a fields advisory committee.

“We also now cannot depend on being included in a building bond, as the $250 million building bond excludes funding for athletic facilities.”

Barrass also explained how the track is an asset for the entire community — in addition to the 300-plus student-athletes who use the track as members of the high school and middle school track teams, the oval is also used by residents who are looking to go for a walk or jog. 

“It is a thing of pride for our community,” Barrass wrote. “I hope that a recognition of its importance to our schools and community, as well as recognition of the severely deteriorating condition of the facility, will prompt the School Department to take action immediately to replace it before it is too late. I am not not sure whether we will be able to compete on this track for much longer, and we cannot stand by and let this happen to our program, our student-athletes, and our community.”

During a presentation later in the School Committee meeting, Finn agreed that the track needs to be redone. He also said that he had scheduled vendors to come look at the track to see what can be done to improve it. 

In addition, Finn said he was speaking with vendors who could make improvements to the high school gymnasium.