A&H

When is a pitch waterlogged?

H

HullRef

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Apart from the obvious ... What do you look for before determining that a pitch is waterlogged?

I.E. If there is no standing water what do you look/test for?
 
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Drop the ball on the pitch, generally if it's waterlogged it won't bounce. Walk the pitch and see how soft it is, if it's hellish soft and gives way underfoot I'd call it off for safety reasons. Bit of common sense as well, if there is a tiny bit of surface water out of the way of the main area's of play I'd get on with it as well.
 
Walk on it, press down firmly with your foot and if water appears, then it is still waterlooged just below the surface, which can be more dangerous than visible surface water.

If you're not happy with it - call it.
 
Dumb question but what is dangerous about it?

Wish they taught us this on the course, luckily most refs have umpteen years of experience but it's not easy judging it when you first qualify.
 
Basically, you need to ask 'Are the players going to be able to keep their footing?' - uncontrolled slips etc = pulls and muscle tears

Also, if the ball doesn't run 'true', and pulls up short because of water, then challenges will be going in between players and the ball not being there.

In the case of waterlogged, you also need to be able to clearly see all the pitch markings.

Frozen pitches are pretty obvious.
 
HullRef said:
Dumb question but what is dangerous about it?

Wish they taught us this on the course, luckily most refs have umpteen years of experience but it's not easy judging it when you first qualify.
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HullRef, you have to consider if the ball will bounce and roll as expected and whether players can stay on their feet. The bounce and roll is important because if it bounces low or doesn't bounce at all, then it will not be where the players expect it to be. Similarly if it doesn't roll, it won't be where the players expect it to be. This can result in misplaced passes, mistimed tackles and a higher level of offences/injuries can occur.

It's difficult to replicate these types of conditions on a new referees course and it's often a gut feel that a field isn't fit. Unfortunately they're not all as clear cut as the Poland vs England 2012 WC qualifier. Searched for a video showing that field inspection but couldn't find one, sorry.
 
Brian Hamilton said:
Unfortunately they're not all as clear cut as the Poland vs England 2012 WC qualifier. Searched for a video showing that field inspection.
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voila - sound is a bit naff but video is fine - can't believe that the stadium had a closing roof!

 
haywain said:
voila - sound is a bit naff but video is fine - can't believe that the stadium had a closing roof!
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Brilliant, thanks for finding it. I will save the link. Obviously the person in charge of the roof didn't pay attention to the weather forecast.
 
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