Soccer Symposium Task Force Report

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*Carrboro Board of Aldermen *Chapel Hill Town Council *Hillsborough Board of Commissioners *Orange County Board of Commissioners *Three to five interested citizens at-large After an extended recruitment effort directed by the County Clerk's office, a total of twenty individuals agreed to serve on the task force. Two task force planning meetings were held in March and the symposium was held on April 26th. After the symposium, the group has held five follow-up meetings of the entire task force, as well as subcommittee meetings dealing with the specific policy issues of access, public/private partnership models and economic development, and inter-league cooperation. Task force members hope that the information and recommendations contained herein will be useful to the Board of County Commissioners in planning for the provision of sports facilities for all the citizens of Orange County. Soccer Symposium Summary As noted previously, the Task Force charge included sponsoring a symposium to disseminate basic information on soccer programs, on available facilities in Orange County, and to solicit input from citizens about their needs and concerns relating to soccer. We briefly summarize each below. Soccer Programs Prior to the symposium, staff (working with representatives of the soccer leagues) gathered data on existing soccer programs. The data revealed that there are three major instructional and league programs in which large numbers of Orange County residents participate -- Rainbow Soccer, Carolina United (now Triangle Futbol), and the Durham-Chapel Hill Strikers. Rainbow Soccer has a total of 1,600 - 1,800 participants per season (fall and spring). Approximately 90 percent of these participants are Orange County residents and roughly 97 percent are white. Of the total participants: 20 percent are under age 6; 35 percent are 6-10 years old; 18 percent are ages 11-12; 4 percent are teens; and 23 percent are adults. Approximately 70 percent of all participants are male. The program has 6 paid staff and about 225 volunteers. Fees are $50 per player (with a reduction for multiple children in the same family and for volunteers); scholarships are available to all that apply. The program uses 4 adult fields owned by UNC (which become 8 youth fields), plus two youth fields at a local church and school when available. Triangle Futbol has a total of 1,000 participants, approximately 35 percent of whom are Orange County residents. All participants are between the ages of 4 and 18; about 60 percent of participants are male and 91 percent are white. The program has three paid staff and 40 volunteers. Fees are $50 to $600, with 10 scholarships available. The organization uses 15 practice and 8 game fields, all of which are leased. In Orange County, they lease fields, as available, from the town of Chapel Hill, and from both school systems; most practices and games are in other counties.