Winter has arrived. Last weekend large parts of the UK were hit by a snowfall, which for many, was earlier than normal. As we know, as beautiful as snow is, and how exciting it is to see everywhere white, realisation quickly dawns as to the disruption it causes.
I was woken early on Saturday with a WhatsApp message from Jamie Fullarton the owner of Just Football and the CCGrass pitch at Hemsworth Miners Welfare FC, in South Yorkshire, asking for advice.
His pitch was covered in snow, he had bookings on it, including matches, what should he do? I advised that there were 3 routes he could take:
- Try and remove the snow by putting a blade on the front of his maintenance machine, to push the snow off. But this is fraught with extra problems. In countries like Norway, such action has led to a considerable amount of infill being lifted and deposited with the snow, on the sides of the pitch. When the snow melts, the infill needs to be removed or redistributed, which can be costly and time consuming. I would always recommend against this action.
- If the snow wasn’t too deep, and was not frozen, you could carry on and play on the pitch. Players won’t cause damage to the synthetic turf covered in snow. In fact Newcastle Falcons match against Worcester Warriors, in the Rugby Premiership took place on a snow covered pitch, this Saturday. Groundsmen had swept the lines clean, and through play, the snow was broken up and eventually disappeared.
- Postpone or cancel all use on the pitch until the snow has melted sufficiently for the surface to be used. This often makes sense, because most people accept a weather forced decision, and it would not mean spending time or money in snow clearing exercises. As an aside, years ago, I helped clear the synthetic pitch at Bisham Abbey so the England rugby team could train on it. As we pushed the last snow to the side, it started snowing again. That was a wasted few hours of my life!
In countries where snow is guaranteed, it does make sense to put an under pitch heating blanket in. This can keep the fibres and infill warm enough to prevent snow settling. I don’t think we have sufficient snow in most of the UK to make this kind of significant expense. Another option taken is to apply synthetic salt to the pitch, which may prevent snow settling, but I would not recommend adding such a product, and certainly not natural salt.
Common sense should be used. This applies to getting to the pitch as well. Are the paths safe? Are the roads clear for people to drive in? Is it really worth opening the pitch and players potentially risking injury, if there is ice or a frozen, slippery patch.
Jamie Fullarton took the pragmatic route and cancelled usage until the pitch was clear of enough snow to be safe to use.
