Frozen Playing Surface Guidelines
Discussion
This weekend, most grassroots football matches were called off due to the pitches being frozen.
We took a broader view on travel to and from the pitch location as well as safe access to, and egress from the pitch itself as well as subs/parents/coaches stood around the pitch. The question of playing on an artificial pitch came up and whilst the travel concerns still applied, we couldn't find any definitive - and unconditional - advice on whether 3G/4G pitches are good to play on when the grass pitches are frozen.
As it happens, the (away) pitch we were due to play on was deemed unsafe but one line of thinking was that by the time you've walked on it and warmed up etc, it's good to go. Commercial websites (people who sell their version of synthetic surface) say it's not good (but their angle was more inclined towards pitch damage rather than player safety). if the sun was forecast to make an appearance, we might have considered a delayed kickoff, but it wasn't to be.
A quick internet search, or even one on the FA website should index a qualified and researched opinion on when a pitch surface becomes unplayable. There's guidance on waterlogged pitches but nothing (as far as my searching went) on (frozen) artificial surfaces.
Does anyone have any further information on the subject? It's for clarity and reference.
We took a broader view on travel to and from the pitch location as well as safe access to, and egress from the pitch itself as well as subs/parents/coaches stood around the pitch. The question of playing on an artificial pitch came up and whilst the travel concerns still applied, we couldn't find any definitive - and unconditional - advice on whether 3G/4G pitches are good to play on when the grass pitches are frozen.
As it happens, the (away) pitch we were due to play on was deemed unsafe but one line of thinking was that by the time you've walked on it and warmed up etc, it's good to go. Commercial websites (people who sell their version of synthetic surface) say it's not good (but their angle was more inclined towards pitch damage rather than player safety). if the sun was forecast to make an appearance, we might have considered a delayed kickoff, but it wasn't to be.
A quick internet search, or even one on the FA website should index a qualified and researched opinion on when a pitch surface becomes unplayable. There's guidance on waterlogged pitches but nothing (as far as my searching went) on (frozen) artificial surfaces.
Does anyone have any further information on the subject? It's for clarity and reference.
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