adult game on BUT under 16s off?

[Kent Ref]

Yesterday at 10.00 i reffed an adult game locally.

Both pitches there were good to play on BUT the under 16s game next door to my pitch was off due to "concerns over the winds". The forecast showed winds up to 30 MPH.

My game was not affected at all by the conditions.

I fear the health and safety culture is now totally out of control and games getting called of "at the drop of a hat" needlessly is the new normal.

 

[Egg man]

We should always keep the weather forecast in mind. If you think it’s unsafe to play a full game, it’s probably best to postpone. There’s no need to put ourselves in challenging situations—being a grassroots referee is tough enough without additional complications., surely a early decision is better for all involved. Several games were canceled yesterday due to the weather. Each referee needs to make there own call.

 

[Big Cat]

Yesterday at 10.00 i reffed an adult game locally.

Both pitches there were good to play on BUT the under 16s game next door to my pitch was off due to "concerns over the winds". The forecast showed winds up to 30 MPH.

My game was not affected at all by the conditions.

I fear the health and safety culture is now totally out of control and games getting called of "at the drop of a hat" needlessly is the new normal.

Yes, games are called off all too readily
I was taken off a game last week due to injury. It was called off at 8am (7:45pm KO) due to snow on the pitch
The snow had completely melted by 2pm. I know the pitch well. The game would have survived had my calf muscle not let us all down!

 

[Egg man]

Yes, games are called off all too readily
I was taken off a game last week due to injury. It was called off at 8am (7:45pm KO) due to snow on the pitch
The snow had completely melted by 2pm. I know the pitch well. The game would have survived had my calf muscle not let us all down!

I'm not sure they are, you have to take into account the distance teams maybe traveling.
I think to many games go a head without thing about safety of all involved. Again a early call is better than waiting for everyone to arrive.

 

[Big Cat]

I'm not sure they are, you have to take into account the distance teams maybe traveling.
I think to many games go a head without thing about safety of all involved. Again a early call is better than waiting for everyone to arrive.

I'm across all the Learning Material & Modules available to L4's and am very much aware of all the considerations and am very much in tune with the weather and ground conditions. I've a fair amount of experience in terms of pitch inspections. I'm yet to regret a decision. I'm not reckless, I won't tolerate frozen ground to any degree, I think summer hard ground is much more of a safety consideration than that associated with rain and wind. I won't allow games to become farcical. I'm aware that decisions made prior to the away side travelling are much more difficult. Once we're at the ground, it would take very compelling reasons for me to postpone, but I'd avoid farce and would be disappointed with myself if I didn't get a game finished..
Accounting for all of the above, I'm remain confident in stating, 'games are called off too readily with respect to wind and rain'
This is a generalization that I stand by, it's contributing to end-of-season problems and is somewhat reflective of today's risk averse culture. .

 

[RustyRef]

When it comes to wind it isn't just on the pitch you need to worry about, but also the surroundings, such as are there any structures or trees that could blow onto the pitch. I can understand why they might be more cautious about a youth game than adult, there's an enhanced duty of care and safety.

I was doing a pitch inspection at a step 3 ground years ago where the players and management were adamant it was playable, they could see me putting the ball down and it not staying still. I was erring towards calling it off as it is farcical when the ball won't stay still for restarts, at that point a huge section of the stand roof below off with part of it landing on the pitch. I didn't even need to make a decision after that, it was made for me, but had I gone ahead and played and that had happened during the game someone could have been killed.

 

[Egg man]

As you know, matches at step 6 and above are rarely called off without a valid reason. However, in park football, the decision to cancel a match is sometimes taken out of the hands of the clubs and referees, and is instead made by the council