To the editor:

The date is in my calendar every year, much like all the school vacations and holidays — the Barrington Invitational Tournament.

This year marked the 45th annual tournament and the excitement in town was palpable. Months of preparation and organization are required for this event to be successful and no detail is overlooked. Tents and first aid kits at each field, snacks and waters for the refs, coaches, and volunteers, set-up and clean-up of all fields, trash cans with frequent emptying (manual not automatic!) etc., etc. 

This year the Board had the additional challenge of torrential rain the night before the first games kicked off. Working late into the evening Friday and pre-dawn hours of Saturday, adaptations and accommodations were made to ensure all teams could still play as many games as possible. As always, thank you to the town officials who helped with parking and traffic flow and to the volunteers who helped with leaf blowing and field maintenance.

Whether you shared in the excitement of your player's first BIT, the bittersweet feelings of your player's last BIT, or simply watched the entertaining games at various fields around town, it truly is a wonderful weekend for all. I know I am not alone when I say thank you to the BYSA Board for providing such a special soccer experience here in Barrington. 

Kristin Lombardi

Barrington