Sportsground Status

Wet Weather Procedures

To find out if the sportsgrounds are closed due to wet weather, please call the Council's Wet Weather Information Line on 9952 8244. You are also able to subscribe to the Sportsground Status page (please select 'Subscribe' in the 'Want Updates?' section below). As a subscriber, whenever this page is updated you will be notified of the change via an email.

The procedure for closing sportsgrounds because of wet weather is outlined below:

Weekday play and afternoon/evening training and games

• In the event of rain, the Wet Weather information line will be updated weekdays by 9am and 2pm respectively.
• If the allocated sportsgrounds are closed for day sports (i.e. schools), a decision by Council officers will be made by 2pm as to whether the sportsgrounds will be reopened for afternoon and evening training.

Summer weekend competition

• In the event of Friday night or weekend rain, the closure of concrete and synthetic cricket wickets will be at the Association's or Club's own discretion.
• For sportsgrounds with turf cricket wickets, clubs are requested to contact Council and a decision will be made by 3pm on the Friday for games on Saturday / Sunday / Public Holidays.
• All other sportsgrounds (i.e. athletics, baseball) will be at the association's or club's own discretion.

Winter weekend competition

For Saturday:

• Council ground staff will assess sporting fields using the Council matrix (see matrix criteria below) on Friday afternoon for Saturday competition with a decision to be communicated to sporting clubs and associations by 2pm.
• In the case of overnight rain (i.e. between 2pm Friday and 8am Saturday) the decision on suitability of grounds for competition games will need to be made by the hirer.
• Communications to sporting clubs and associations will be via the Sportsground Status page and Council Wet Weather phone line.

For Sunday: 

• Council ground staff will assess sporting fields using the Council matrix on Saturday afternoon for Sunday competition with a decision communicated to sporting clubs and associations by 4pm.
• In the case of overnight rain (i.e. between 4pm Saturday and 8am Sunday) the decision on suitability of grounds for competition games will need to be made by the hirer.
• Communications to sporting clubs and associations will be via the Sportsground Status page and Council Wet Weather phone line. 

Note: There may be situations where Council may close the sporting fields for both Saturday and Sunday competitions (winter season) on Friday afternoon. This will be when there has been a significant amount of rain for a number of days prior to the weekend. 

• If individual sportsgrounds and/or either all sportsgrounds are closed by Council on Saturday and Sunday due to ongoing wet weather conditions or unsuitable oval conditions, the decision will be final.

Council's assessment matrix to determine ground closures uses the following criteria:

• Surface water
• Water rising to the surface
• Soil profile
• Drainage
• Grass Cover
• Type of Activity
• Forecast as per Bureau of Meteorology.