The ACT government has strongly defended its decision to close Canberra's sportsgrounds last weekend in the wake of a barrage of abuse from local competitors, athletes and coaches, over a perceived lack of rainfall.
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A decision to close public sportsgrounds for the weekend was made last Friday, the second time this winter local sport has had to be called off due to inclement weather.
Most local competitions declared the round a washout, with soccer and hockey the only major top-grade sports able to proceed, via the use of synthetic fields.
Sport and Recreation Canberra's Facebook page received a torrent of abuse for the decision, after only 4.2mm of rain was recorded between Sunday and Friday last week.
But that doesn't take into account the combined 12.4mm which fell on July 16-17, following on from what the Government has described as the wettest June since 2012.
Despite that volume of precipitation, sportsgrounds remained opened on the July 17-18 weekend having been inspected before the bulk of the rainfall soaked in.
"This winter's conditions have provided few opportunities for sportsgrounds to dry out after periods of heavy or consistent rainfall," an ACT government spokesperson said.
"When sportsgrounds are closed due to wet weather it is done so in the interests of public safety and to minimise the damage to sportsgrounds. Wet grounds become slippery with users losing traction when running or suddenly turning, increasing the risk of leg, knee and ankle injuries.
"While light damage can self-repair, heavier damage may impact on the remainder of the winter season by making damaged fields unavailable.
"Grass growth is slow in cold conditions, limiting the ability for grass to self-repair. It's not possible to get plant and equipment onto sportsgrounds for maintenance when the soil is wet."
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ACT sportsgrounds are regularly inspected to determine the level of saturation in soil. This information is blended with weather forecasts to make a decision on whether or not venues need to be closed.
Turf venues remain closed for training this week with another inspection scheduled for 9am on Thursday morning.
Last week's decision to close sportsgrounds led to round 13 of the Canberra Raiders Cup to be declared a washout.
Rugby union's John I Dent Cup is hopeful of replaying the round in the week before the finals, which had been set aside as a competition-wide bye. AFL Canberra, which had been set to play its inaugural pride match, is also in the process of working out whether replaying last round later in the season in viable.
"What a joke - we are the laughing stock of winter sport across the southern states, the grounds would have to be under water for this to happen anywhere else in this country," one Facebook user posted.
"Its (sic) winter and rain is to be expected but as usual you jump the gun and close the grounds. What do your grounds people actually do? Lightning and hail should be the onkythings (sic) that stop a game," another wrote.
"The ACT government understands that the closure of sportsgrounds is disruptive for sporting clubs and participants and a decision to close sportsgrounds is not taken lightly," the ACT government spokesperson said.
"The decision to close is made where risks to participant safety and the likelihood of significant damage cannot be addressed any other way.
"With low winter temperatures and periods of heavy rainfall the muddy, slippery and boggy surfaces pose safety risks to the community and increase the risk of damage to sportsgrounds if used.
"These two factors dictate the decision to close sportsgrounds. We would like to thank the various sport peak bodies for their patience to allow grounds more time to dry out following the ongoing winter rainfall."