Over 1,500 Sign Petition To Let Fairfield Hockey Play At State Tournament

FAIRFIELD, CT — A petition to allow the Fairfield co-op hockey team to play in the state tournament has received more than 1,500 signatures.

The team, which entered a two-year co-op phase-out period in 2019, is citing the coronavirus pandemic as cause for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference to allow Fairfield an extra year of tournament eligibility after the state contest was canceled two years running. However, the team's request and appeal to play were both denied by the organization, according to the petition.

“Everyone has had to adjust, adapt and be flexible over the past two years, so we are asking the CIAC to do the same,” the petition, posted on change.org, said. “We are just kids who want to represent our schools and community on the biggest stage in the state. Winning a high school state championship is something every kid dreams of. We show up to the rink every day, working as hard as we possibly can to achieve this goal.”

The Fairfield team includes players from Warde and Ludlowe high schools. The co-op format is an option for schools that lack the players to form their own team. Co-op hockey teams must have no more than 15 members per school and cannot cut any players. Schools with player numbers above the maximum are subject to a phase-out period, after which they must separate or opt out of the state tournament.

Fairfield's hockey program has 14 players from Warde and 19 from Ludlowe. It is the only co-op team competing in Division I hockey and has had a strong season, with an 11-2 record so far, according to MaxPreps.

In January, Fairfield’s Board of Selectmen signed a letter asking the CIAC to let the town’s team compete at state. As of early Monday morning, the petition had 1,680 signatures.

The state tournament is scheduled to begin March 7. To view the petition, visit https://bit.ly/3rw6smv.