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Haverford Soccer Club Weather Policy
Weather cancellations can cause mass confusion in an organization our size. Some weekends we have over 100 games scheduled on our fields. The games are spread over a 30-hour period. Each year the number grows.

We cancel games for many different reasons related to weather. Each field is different. A storm that dumps an inch of rain on Polo Field may not have any effect on Manoa Field, except the sight of ominous clouds. A two-day soaking rain that might close Lynnewood Field may have little effect on Manoa Field three hours after it stops.

To help end the confusion there are three things all parents and coaches must know when they call the weather hotline: age group, game time and field location for that days' game.

You might receive any of a few different messages when you call. All games may be called off; games in a specific division or at a specific location may be cancelled or postponed. The last message you might receive is for the coaches to make a decision at the field, at game time. This seems to cause the most confusion.

Soccer is a game that is played in the rain and on wet fields. Soccer is played in oppressive heat and in the snow on frozen ground. It is an opportunity for the players to learn to adapt and overcome the circumstances that nature, or life in general, might throw at him or her. Players can wear additional layers under their uniform, they wear cleats to provide them with better traction and they can adjust their playing style in response to specific field and weather conditions.

If the message is to make the decision at the field at game time, it is expected that the coaches will make every attempt to do so. It is very hard to reschedule games and we do not usually ever do it at Under-10 level and below. In those younger age groups it is just a lost opportunity.

Please approach these situations with a sense of adventure and humor. Years from now you’ll have players who only remember that one unusual game in the rain or snow. One of our coach’s still remembers a game in Junior High when the goalkeeper punted a ball that the wind took 30 yards behind his own goal. It is the only thing he remembers from a season in which he was a key player on a team that played 12 games.

Lightning, on the other hand, poses much different issues. We have an unambiguous lightning policy: GO HOME.

HSC teams do not play or practice if there is lightning or thunder. Safety first. This rule applies regardless of whether you are home or away, and regardless of what the referee decides.

FACTS:
1. All thunderstorms produce lightning and are dangerous.
2. Lightning often strikes as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall.
3. You are in imminent danger from lightning if you can hear thunder.
4. Outdoors is the most dangerous place to be in a lightning storm.

Blue Skies and Lightning. Lightning can travel sideways for up to 10 miles. Even when the sky looks blue and clear, be cautious. If you hear thunder, take cover. At least 10% of lightning occurs without visible clouds in the sky.

WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF THUNDER or LIGHTNING;
1. Postpone the game (or practice) immediately; do not wait for rain
2. Get into a car or a building
3. Do not stand under a tree
4. Avoid metal (bicycle, pole, goal, fence, bleachers etc.)
  

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