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LEAFIELD ATHLETIC FC WILL NEVER UN-NECSSARILY CANCEL A GAME.  
THE SAFETY AND PRIORITY OF ALL PLAYERS IS PARAMOUNT.  
WE NEVER WISH TO SEE A PLAYER INJURED AND FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES WHEN ASCERTAINING PITCH SAFETY.   

 
PITCH INSPECTIONS AND PLAYER SAFETY 

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Pitch Inspection Procedures & Protocols 
 

Prepare for the weekend 

LAFC are proactive regarding the weather and its’ potential impact on your up-coming game(s). We review the forecast in the days leading up to your game(s).  
When carrying out a pitch inspection, we make as accurate an assessment of the playing surface as it would be in a game. We will get a football onto the pitch too, to see the effect any potential surface problem will have on a rolling/bouncing ball 
 
Inspection(s) leading up to game – Friday/Saturday/Sunday morning 

When we carry out pitch inspections we do so with the following in mind: 

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•  Our grounds man’s local knowledge of our 2 grounds that we play on. 

•  We inspect all areas of the field of play but pay specific attention to areas of high    traffic ie: goal/penalty areas, the central third of the pitch from goal to goal/penalty  area to penalty area (this is where the majority of the game will be played).  

• We look to see that the playing surface is safe and/or playable ie: not frozen/icy, not waterlogged, If the pitch is frozen/icy, are there ruts from previous games that would be dangerous ie: they could cause twisted ankles etc if stepped into and/or could cause cuts to legs/arms if slid over. 
  If this is so,  postpone the game. 

• If the pitch is waterlogged, does the ball run feely and/or bounce true ie: does it gets get stuck in puddles/not bounce back up having hit the ground 
  If this is so, postpone the game 

• If the pitch is covered in snow, are the pitch markings visible and/or does the ball run feely and/or bounce true ie: are the lines covered in snow and /or does the ball get stuck in the snow or gather snow onto it as it rolls/not bounce back up having hit the ground 
  If this is so, postpone the game 

• We also look at the current weather conditions and the local forecast for the next few hours/days and If, as an example, the pitch is close to being waterlogged and heavy rain is falling and will continue to do so.  We will inspect the pitches several times before deciding based on the criteria above. 

• The effect playing on the pitch which has been subjected to adverse weather conditions, eg large ruts, pitch markings not visible, surface “sticky” which means a foot could get stuck in the mud causing a twisted ankle or worse? - postpone the game. 

 

The Referee has the right to call the game off if he/she believes the safety of the players cannot be guaranteed for the whole of the game due to the weather conditions and playing surface/pitch conditions.