Policies
Weather Policy
Wet Weather
MPNA FOLLOWS THE GUIDELINES FROM NETBALL VICTORIAS WET WEATHER POLICY WHICH STATES:
The health and safety of members is a primary concern to Netball Victoria. Every Club, Association and League within Victoria has a responsibility to provide a safe environment.
In wet weather a determination between unsafe and unpleasant conditions shall be made. Inclement weather may make conditions uncomfortable and members may choose not to play in unpleasant conditions.
Netball is played all year round and has traditionally been a winter sport. This means that on more than one occasion during the year MPNA may be faced with making a decision to cancel or continue to play matches during wet weather. It is obviously preferable that games are not cancelled however, if the courts become dangerous it is in the best interest of all to cancel games as safety of members is paramount.
Who will be responsible for making the decision?
The Executive Committee / Competitions Supervisor is responsible for making decisions in relation to wet weather. This may be to postpone the game, move to another court or cancel the match. The on court and supervising umpires will also be consulted when making the decision.
How will the decision be communicated to teams or team management?
MPNA will notify clubs via Netball Connect and the MPNA Facebook Page.
What happens if a match is cancelled?
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Games cancelled prior to half time will be classed as ABANDONED and each team will receive two points.
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Games cancelled after halftime will see the current score stand.
CONSIDERATIONS
In wet weather a determination between unsafe and unpleasant conditions shall be made. Inclement weather may make conditions uncomfortable and members may choose not to play in unpleasant conditions however these conditions may not be deemed as UNSAFE.
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Heavy Rain and/or strong winds may make conditions unsafe.
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Play should not commence or continue in the event of dangerous conditions (refer Notes).
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Consideration will be given to the specifications provided on the Bureau website (www.bom.gov.au) (refer appendix) with regard to wind & rain.
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Consideration should be given to the age & ability of players. It should be acknowledged that, generally, older & more experienced players are more able to adjust their play to suit the weather conditions.
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Preference will also be given to the Graded age groups to play through inclement weather as they are impacted by finals.
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If the weather forecast is for Heavy (level 11-14) rain and/or a Gale warning the competition supervisor may elect to:
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abandon all games for the day, OR
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decide timeslot by timeslot.
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MPNA will notify clubs no later than 45 minutes of the 8am/8:45am timeslots via Netball Connect and the MPNA Facebook page. Each timeslot post 8:45am will be notified within 30 minutes of the game start time should their be a cancellation.
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Once the Supervisor has deemed it suitable for a game to commence any decision to abandon or forfeit a game is with consultation of the coaches. At half time the Saturday Supervisor may decide to abandon all games (scores stand). Where a coach decides to withdraw from the game they will be considered a forfeit LOSS and the opposition will be awarded 4 points.
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The Saturday Supervisor reserves the right to abandon any match at any time where conditions change from those in which the match commenced.
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Once the Saturday Supervisor’s decision has been made to abandon a game, the Supervisor only has the authority to recommence a game.
NOTES
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Forfeit: If one team elects not to play and concedes four points to the opposition, this team will pay courts fees for both teams
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Abandon: If both teams agree not to continue play and take two points each they will each pay court fees. If this occurs prior to half time teams will be awarded 2 points each. If after half time scores will stand.
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Squeegees: are available if teams want to quickly clear water from their court after rain.
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Surfaces: “The courts are designed to handle water and the drainage allows water to run off quickly. The surface is slip resistant even when damp”.
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Dangerous conditions = thunder/lightning, extreme wind (gale force = more than 63kmh), persistent hail (hail is usually passing so games may be held whilst it passes).
APPENDIX
www.bom.gov.au
Radar Features to Watch For:
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Rain Bands - Radar echoes from widespread rain (e.g. from a frontal rain band) are usually extensive and fairly uniform in intensity, with ill-defined edges. The estimated rainfall intensity usually appears as light to medium because of the smaller raindrop size produced in such rain bands.
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Showers from Cumulus Clouds - Radar echoes from showers falling from cumulus (tall bubbly clouds) appear as sharp-edged cells scattered around the radar display. The estimated rainfall intensity can be medium to heavy owing to the high rainfall rates from such clouds.
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Heavy Precipitation from Thunderstorms - Radar echoes from the rain and hail produced in thunderstorms are very sharp-edged cells with intense cores indicating heavy rainfall. Hailstones produce particularly intense echoes because of their large size. Thunderstorm precipitation cells can appear as isolated cells or in clusters or lines. Each cell tends to last for 30 minutes or more. Fast moving cells, rapidly growing cells, a bow in the direction of movement of a line of cells and/or a long-lived cell moving in a markedly different direction to others may indicate the potential for severe weather (large hail, damaging winds and/or very heavy rain). Also a very slow moving cell or the repeated passage of a number of cells over a particular location could indicate potential for flash flooding.
Wind Warning & Gusts - Based on the 40 percent rule of thumb, the table below shows potential gusts you could expect for different forecast average wind speeds and associated wind warning category.
This policy is written in alignment with NV and will be reviewed and updated accordingly. Effective June 2024