Efforts by Boulevard Blazers to grow football among Bermuda’s disadvantaged communities have received a boost after the club’s training fields at Victor Scott Primary had additional lights installed by the government.

The First Division club is one of the few on the island that offers free coaching to junior players. Early loss of daylight meant the five volunteer coaches had to take time off from work commitments to conduct sessions.

All that changed two weeks ago when the government, through the Ministry of National Security, concluded the project of fitting lights at the school. Sixteen light-emitting diodes are now in use for fine-tuning sessions by both the juniors and the senior team.

Shane Powell, the club secretary, expressed his appreciation to Michael Weeks, the Minister of National Security, for recognising that the lack of lights at the facility fell under his purview.

“The Minister of Security Michael Weeks and his team came to have a look. They saw it fit that the issues surrounding Boulevard not having lights posed a security threat.

“He made sure that we got the lights so that we can provide a state-of-the-art programme. The project cost around $30,000 and we’re grateful to Burgess Electrical Technology for getting it done in a timely manner.

“We approached the government and they saw it fit that we needed these lights from a security point of view.

“We are one of the only clubs on the island that actually provide a free training programme to the youths in the community. We cater for the under-7, under-9 and under-11, boys and girls.

“We are in the process of starting our under-5 programme. This lighting will definitely help us to provide coaching for the youths in the community.

“We also plan to provide a safe space for anyone who wants to use the lights under the watch of Boulevard Community Club. We just want to brighten up the community and use the field as a safe space for the children around.”

Before the lighting was increased, Boulevard’s home for half a century only had two working lights. It meant that the training sessions had to be confined to that part of the field, and the damage was beginning to show as the grass suffered.

“We used to train in this one little spot,” the club secretary said. “The grass there has been used up so much that there’s now a patch.

“We’ve been using this ground for 50 years and serving the Pembroke East community. At some stage, we did have all the lights working, which is why all the poles are up.

“We were just unable to get the funds to get the lights back up and running. That meant we didn’t have lights for about 20 years. Now we’re so happy to serve our community.

“By having lights at our training fields, we are now saving money we were using to hire training facilities for our senior team.”