With the season fast approaching we thought it would be prudent to explain the wet weather procedures for our club.
On Training nights (Monday through Thursday) if there has been rain, the fields will be inspected by a member of our facilities committee at approximately 3pm on that day. If the fields are deemed unsafe we will update the widget on the home page and Facebook page advising the closure of our fields as soon as possible thereafter (no message will be posted if the fields are okay). In the event that the fields are closed, this means ALL FIELDS are closed (including Payne Road and The Gap High).
If there is lightning present, all coaches, managers, players and parents are asked to stop training and find shelter immediately.
On weekdays where there are matches scheduled for that evening (e.g. Wednesday and Friday nights) a decision will be made by 1pm regarding the availability of the fields for that night.
On weekend game days (Saturday and Sunday), the pitches are inspected at 6am, and a decision on the fields will be made at 7am, or as close as possible to this time, as the fields are required to be inspected by a referee area coordinator and a member of our facilities committee. If the fields are deemed unsafe, messages will be posted as described above.
Please note that members of the facilities committee are volunteers and so some leeway on these timings (outlined above) must be made. However, every attempt will be made to meet these times in the first instance. Additionally, if a third party is required to inspect the fields (such as a referee area coordinator), the timings may differ.
Reasons for field closures
The decision to close the fields is not taken lightly. The paramount concern is player safety and heavily saturated fields could injure players if the playing surface is too wet. Secondly, with a large amount of teams sharing the facilities at Walton Bridge, it is crucial that the long term condition of the fields be taken into consideration, if they are to endure the season which concludes mid September for most of our Football Brisbane and Football Queensland teams. Damage caused early in the season cannot be repaired until October.
Whilst appreciate that many of you want to continue your training programs and play your games (which we also want), it is in the best interests of the club to close the fields whenever heavy rain saturates the fields.
When there is wet weather please check our Twitter/ Facebook page first as it is quicker and easier to update than our website.