GROUND CLOSURES & CANCELLATIONS

GROUND CLOSURES

During the week Wellington City Council control the status of the grounds (open or closed). There is a 'Sportsgrounds status' webpage and a phone number. These are updated each morning, and again around 2pm. The automated phone line will advise when the ground status will be updated and sometimes it's more reliable to listen to this than to go by the webpage. On the rare occassion the fields can be closed as late as 3pm - it all depends on the weather (and amount of rain having fallen usually and the current state of the grounds).

SPORTSGROUNDS STATUS WEBPAGE: https://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/play-sport/sportsgrounds/status
SPORTSGROUNDS STATUS HOTLINE: (04) 801-4134

From 6pm on Friday nights the grounds are handed over from the Council to respective sports entities - in our case Capital Football. Capital Football are advised of any ground restrictions for the weekend, and then they make the call for the games.

From 6pm Friday night - DO NOT look at the WCC website or use the phone number - what is on Capital Football website and social media is what we go by.

Neither the council or Capital Football are here to be party football poopers - but is about the grounds during the week so you have fields to play on in the weekend. Capital Football try to get games played as much as possible in the weekends, you are able to play football in the rain and the state of the grounds and the amount of games each weekend played on the grounds is what their decisions are made around. As stated on Friday, there may be the odd time you get to the ground and the field is unplayable, at that stage the coaches from both teams have the right to call the game off. This does not happen often and cannot be helped. (Those cricket players among you will certainly have sympathy when it comes to this!)

CANCELLATIONS

The following is the link to Capital Football confirming their cancellation procedures, please take the time to read if you have not done so already.

CAPITAL FOOTBALL CANCELLATION PROCEDURES: http://www.capitalfootball.org.nz/COMPS-1/Cancellations-1

When training and warming up for games be mindful of the state of the ground, you do not necessarily need to warm up on the actual pitch.

Lastly remember to double check your games on Capital Football on Friday night and depending on the weather again on Saturday morning before you head out. Capital Football will try to amend their draws around 7am on Saturday/Sunday (or earlier if known). If your grade or league is not mentioned on the various platforms with changes of cancellations - then you ARE playing as stated. I find out about changes etc about 5 minutes before the general public. If you are in doubt please contact your grade manager/myself. Please do not take it upon yourself in the weekends to cancel your games this needs to be co-ordinated through Capital Football, myself and the club you are playing. Should you need to default a game, it is appreciated that you give me/grade manager as much notice as possible, it may be that we can call on other players from other teams depending on the draw.

Rosie

MIRAMAR RANGERS CLUB ADMINISTRATOR
miramarrangersafc@gmail.com

WINTER TIPS FROM WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL

By following these simple tips you can help reduce the amount of damage caused to the playing surface which can results in better playing conditions for weekend games:

All warm up and warm down drills should be done off the playing field where possible or on hard surfaces and in green rooms when available.
Try to keep out of goal mouths for training as these areas deteriorate very quickly during games.
If you have portable posts or cones, set these up away from the goal and where possible off the playing field.
If you’re training on the playing field, ensure you move the players around so you do not wear only one area.
Keep away from any areas that are showing damage.
If you’re training during the day, try to leave the lit area for night training.
If you have training on particularly wet day/night and the grounds are still open, consider training options off the grounds.