Apponaug Girls Softball League says goodbye to Winslow Park

Matt Metcalf
Posted 6/2/15

This has been a season to remember for the Apponaug Girls Softball League.

Not only does 2015 commemorate the 35th anniversary for the league, but it is also the league’s final season at …

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Apponaug Girls Softball League says goodbye to Winslow Park

Posted

This has been a season to remember for the Apponaug Girls Softball League.

Not only does 2015 commemorate the 35th anniversary for the league, but it is also the league’s final season at well-known Winslow Park – a complex where Apponaug has played its games for the last 27 years.

On Saturday, everyone that has been involved with the league was invited to come together to celebrate the 35th anniversary and bid a fond farewell to the fields that have served as a home to so many for nearly three decades.

Former and current players, presidents, board members, parents and coaches all gathered at Winslow Park to pay their respects to a great league and complex.

Some of the main attractions for the day included a dunk tank, a bounce house and a home run derby competition. Hamburgers and hot dogs were also available on the grill for those in attendance, with much of the food being donated by Shaw’s, Stop & Shop and Council Ward 3.

According to Apponaug League President Bob Chevian, there were around 200 people who confirmed to be in attendance on Apponaug’s Facebook page. Overall, Chevian was expecting between 200 and 300 people to attend on Saturday – a testament to the love for the league and the generational atmosphere that it maintains.

“It just shows you all of the generations that have been here, and the next one will carry on,” Chevian said. “And once my generation is gone, we hope the next one will carry this on.”

The current Winslow Park will be no more in the coming months, as the fields will be turned into a runway extension at T.F. Green Airport.

However, Apponaug, along with Warwick Firefighters Soccer, will have new fields to play on across from the airport sometime in the middle of July.

Everyone was hopeful that the fields would be ready for July 1, as Apponaug is set to co-host a college showcase that will include 55 teams during the weekend of July 4.

As of right now, the new fields are about 90 percent done, but Chevian is confident that the showcase will be held at Apponaug’s current fields.

That should be the last tournament there, before Apponaug makes its way over to its new fields, which are coming along perfectly.

“It’s looking beautiful,” Chevian said of the new diamonds. “We’re now working on an exit plan of when we’ll be out of here. Right now that looks like the middle of July.”

Chevian is happy with how the process has gone, though, and was pleased with the way that the airport has treated them along the way.

“The airport has been very informative and very good to us,” Chevian said. “Everything has been ideal so far – better than I thought it would be. I have no complaints.”

I’m sure Apponaug will create wonderful memories at the new fields for the foreseeable future.

But on Saturday, hundreds of people gathered to pay tribute to the set of fields where many in attendance spent a good chunk of their childhoods.

Judging by the turnout, they meant so much to so many.

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  • BobbyTownsend

    Anything playing fields get jeopardized for any reason, it is very sad.

    Thursday, June 4, 2015 Report this