Cathy Parker Field - Football at the Edge of the World
- Paul Baker
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Close your eyes and image you are at a sporting event. You’re bundled up against the cold, even though it's August, as the temperature has topped out at a frigid 25 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind from the nearby water is whipping the wind chill down into the single digits or even below zero. You look around and it’s apparent that most of the fans in attendance have opted to stay in their cars with the motors running or in one of the two school buses provided as shelters for warmth, as the car’s heat trumps the superior view from the mostly empty wooden bleachers.
As you look around the field of play, you begin to notice that many things here are just not typical for venues that host this sport. First of all, everyone is bundled up for protection from the cold, even in late summer or early fall. Also, the colors here are just not right. The field isn’t green, it’s blue. And where the playing surface ends, there is no grass, there are no trees. There is only black gravel. Look across the field, and you’re likely to see a frozen lagoon. Look to your left, or to your right, and you will gaze upon an industrial landscape that might almost feel like a steampunk scene come to life. It's almost as if mother nature has taken a leave of absence.
Now turn around. Across the unpaved road you will see the ocean. But there aren’t giant waves crashing onto a sandy shore, there is only more ice and black gravel. Look closer at some of the individuals surrounding the field. You may notice that some of them are holding rifles. Why in the world are fans carrying firearms at a sporting event, you might wonder? They are here to protect the participants and the crowd. From what, you may ask? Polar bears. Yes, you read that right. Where you are right now, polar bears are a legitimate threat to invade the game and attack spectators and participants alike.
Have you figured out where you are yet? Probably not. Not too many people have seen a game where you are right now. You are at Cathy Parker Field in Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost football field in the world. Located 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle, but just feet from the Arctic Ocean, it’s the home field of the Barrow High School Whalers. And the story behind this football field is as interesting as its location.
Barrow High School has only had a football team representing the school since 2006. The students were asked what would help increase school spirit, keep students in school and out of trouble, and since they were playing a lot of Madden at the time, they cheekily answered, “a football team.” Despite the school’s small enrollment (the school has under 300 students), it has achieved a level of notoriety both on and off the gridiron. The NFL Network chronicled the school’s 2015 team in “Football Town: Barrow, Alaska.” The Whalers won the Alaska state championship in 2017. On three other occasions Barrow has reached the State Finals.
Almost as noteworthy as the Whalers team is their home field. Located on a narrow coastal ridge in between the Chukchi Sea and Imikpuk Lake, the home field of the Whalers did not always feature the signature blue turf it has today. Originally, Barrow played on the familiar black gravel permafrost that is ubiquitous to the town of Utqiagvik. The team used flour to lay out the yard markers around the field. An ESPN “Outside the Lines” special shown in 2006 featuring the inaugural Barrow Whalers team caught the attention of a woman in Jacksonville, Florida, who, after seeing the story of the football team, was motivated to do something.
*drone photos courtesy of CFBCampusTour Twitter Page*
That woman was Cathy Parker and that something was to raise money to get the Whalers a proper field. At the time, Parker was the Vice President of Development and Marketing for the Boys and Girls Club in Valdosta, GA. This wife of a football coach and mother of four understood the importance that sports could play in the development of young people and in the development of a community, and watching these high school athletes play football on a field of rocks and gravel inspired her to do the impossible: fund and build a football stadium thousands of miles away where none had ever existed before in a place where no one knew her.
“Project Alaska Turf” raised over $500,000 in just six months to build the field that was later named in her honor. But this group provided more than just a football field. They provided help to this underserved community that had long dealt with high dropout rates, drug use, and a myriad of other mental health issues. Members of Parker’s group provided counseling services for families, women, and other citizens of Utqiagvik. A book, “Northern Lights,” was written about Parker’s journey, and a movie was filmed, “Touchdown on the Tundra.” The school district reports that since the construction of the football field, the graduation rate of the school has risen from 46.8% to 83.6%, and the GPA of the football team has risen from the low-2.0s to the mid-3.0s.
The Barrow football season runs from mid-August to late September. Practices start in late July, during the town’s 80 consecutive days of non-stop sunlight. After that, there just isn’t enough light to play the games. In fact, the sun doesn’t rise here for 64 consecutive days in the winter. Temperatures typically run between 30-44 degrees throughout the season, and the wind, which can reach 60 miles per hour, is a constant presence. You might experience whiteout conditions even in August. Tales are told of kicks that go backwards once they hit the air, and a strong ground game is a must in Barrow. As mentioned before, you learn quickly to dress in layers in Barrow, even during the midnight sun of the summer months. The field is covered with snow for much of the year.
The town of Utqiagvik is not accessible by road. The town can only be reached by plane for much of the year. All of the Whalers’ opponents must fly in for games, and likewise, the Whalers fly to all road games. The nearest opponent is located over 500 miles away, roughly the distance between New York and Detroit. Even though their season typically consists of only three or four road games, the Whalers require extensive fundraising and donations to finance their operations.
In one of the most extreme environments in the world, a football field has become a symbol of a community’s resilience, persistence and dedication. If you’ve ever dreamed of visiting a football field at the absolute edge of the world, you’ll be able to fulfill that wish in Utqiagvik.
