Why not promote rec leagues rather than for-profit i9 flag football?

I spend over 500 hours every year working as a volunteer for Catonsville Recreation and Parks programs to provide our community's children with recreational opportunities.

I object to your promotion of i9 flag football ("New flag football league puts the fun in fundamentals," Catonsville Times, Sept 21).

The paper should promote community-based recreational activities, not private enterprises that profit from divisions in the community and from a lack of exposure to existing programs.

Catonsville Rec and Parks once had a flag football program, run by volunteers. If there were any deficiencies in this program, I presume they were, as with most of our programs, a lack of good playing fields and of volunteers.

It is my belief that no parent should pay over $100 for a child to play flag football. There is minimal equipment and no officials required.

At the ages when flag football is played, coaches are teachers, not combatants, and should be quite capable of keeping a game fun by managing the rules reasonably.

Other costs not borne include insurance and field space. A private program pays fees that a county program does not.

On top of that, costs are marked up to make a profit. This makes the overall cost for parents much higher than it should be.

Catonsville Rec and Parks no longer sponsors a flag football program. I am told that registration is too low, perhaps due to competition.

When we ran the program, the cost was $75. This paid for shorts, a T-shirt, flag belts, the lining of the field, trophies and an end of the year pizza party.

It also funded the tackle program, keeping it as one of the lowest priced programs in the area.

The playing fields make up the most important of these costs.

i9 uses those at St. Timothy's. I am not sure of the agreement but it seems likely that there is a rental price involved.

It's reasonable if St. Timothy's seeks to raise funds by renting their fields but this situation could easily help our community instead of dividing it.

I encourage rec and parks programs to match the rental offers.

Yes, there would be additional cost to the participants, but less than i9 and the competition would charge.

It is important to understand that the shortage of fields is a primary issue in rec programs; use of the space at St. Timothy's (at a charge) would directly benefit everyone on both sides of such an arrangement.

If we did not have a shortage of volunteers, rec and parks programs could do a better job of marketing.

If the public knew the score, I think they would choose our programs, almost unanimously, over private ones.

The Catonsville Times should be more helpful in connecting rec and parks programs with our community.

The people of Catonsville should do what it takes to move private enterprise, competing with volunteer based programs, out of our area.

Duncan McTaggart

Catonsville Recreation and Parks Council, administrator and coach: boys and girls basketball, boys baseball, girls soccer