A long-time town resident wants to build professional-level beach volleyball courts on the Oxford High School campus.
Mike Caprio, a 33-year resident who founded the town’s softball league and runs its recreational co-ed volleyball league, introduced his plan to the Oxford school board earlier this month.
Caprio wants permission from school officials to build two volleyball courts, which would be placed near softball fields on the high school grounds.
The plan is to pay for the courts through fundraising. Fees would be collected from groups that use the courts. That could help offset the minimal maintenance costs, Caprio said.
If the courts prove popular, money raised from them could go into the school district’s athletic accounts, Caprio suggested.
The initial cost for the construction of the courts could be about $10,000. Caprio hasn’t started raising money yet, aside from a few small donations. He wants permission from the school district first.
“I don’t want this project to cost the town anything,” he said.
The town’s Selectmen and Planning and Zoning don’t oppose his plan, Caprio said.
Caprio envisions tournaments, summer league play — and use of the courts by Oxford students.
Beach volleyball — that is, games played on sand — exploded in popularity in the past decade, thanks to regular airings on ESPN or its sister channels of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), the NFL of beach volleyball leagues. However, AVP suspended operations in mid-August.
Beach volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1996.
School board members liked Caprio’s idea, but need more information before making a decision.
“It’s a welcome addition and a great idea,” school board chairman Rose McKinnon said.
McKinnon said the district will have to research insurance costs related to the project.
Upon the suggestion of Superintendent James Connelly, the school board passed the project along to a subcommittee, where members will examine it further and report back to the full school board in September.
“I’m not trying to delay it. I think it’s a great idea,” Connelly said. “I just want to make sure it works and we do it legally.”
Caprio, who has been working on the project for two years, was fine with that.
“You guys have to be 100 percent comfortable with it,” he said.
