About Field Closures

The primary reason for closing a field is player safety; playing soccer on a field that is muddy and saturated with water is dangerous and poses real risks of injury.

The secondary reason for closing a field is preservation of the playing surfaces; it only takes a few minutes to do serious damage to a field that is wet and slippery, and it can take weeks or months for a field to recover from such damage.

The decision to open or close fields is not necessarily based on the weather at any given moment, but rather on the condition of the fields themselves. After heavy or extended periods of rain, many grass fields often need hours or even a day or two to dry out and become playable. Conversely, there may be occasions when fields will remain open even if it has begun raining, because the fields are not saturated with water.

An athletic field should be considered closed if any of the following conditions exist:

• There is standing water present on any part of the field.
• There are muddy conditions present that will not dry by the start of the game OR practice.
• While walking on the field water can be seen or heard with a footstep.
• While walking on the field of play, any impression of your footprint is left in the surface
• If water gathers around the sole of a shoe or boot on any portion of the field.

The decision to open or close fields is made by the City of Newton’s Parks & Recreation Department, in consultation with Newton Girls Soccer and Newton Youth Soccer officials.

Only designated Newton Girls Soccer and Newton Youth Soccer officials have the authority to open a soccer field that has been closed.

If fields become unplayable, coaches and / or referees are expected to use common sense and cancel on-field activities.

For games, whether City, Juniors, BAYS or other organized league games, the referee has the authority to postpone a game in progress or before it has started based on field conditions, no matter what fields status has been posted earlier that day.

Please refer to our Unsafe Weather Policy for additional guidelines about closing fields and/or suspending play.

Field status updates are posted in the following locations:

• Website – NewtonGirlsSoccer.org
• Facebook – Newton Girls Soccer
• City of Newton Parks, Recreation & Culture
• Twitter – @NewtonFields

Every effort is made to update the fields status as needed by 3:00 pm on weekdays and 7:00 am on weekends.

Field status postings remain in effect until a new status is posted. In other words, if the status is updated announcing that fields are open, they will remain open until the status message is changed.