The relentless rain this summer has left some Ottawa fields unfit for competition, affecting local soccer leagues.
Deep divots and mud patches have made it difficult and sometimes unsafe for players to take the field.
“This is definitely the worst we’ve had,” Elliot Barkley, general manager of the Ottawa Carleton Soccer League (OCSL) told CTV News Ottawa. “Last year, the heat was pretty bad, but it didn’t affect the quality of fields nearly as much. Whereas now we’ve had a few wet ones, and after groups play on them, they’re effectively done for the summer.”
The situation has led to injuries and — in some cases — last-minute game cancellations.
“We’ve had some injuries as well, where someone trips and falls on the divot, whatever,” Barkley said. “A lot of times, the referee gets to the field and has to cancel the game because we don’t even know it’s that bad until they get there. Everyone’s pissed off. It sucks.”
Bill Beelen, responsible for field maintenance at East Nepean Little League, says it’s the rainiest season in the National Capital Baseball League (NCBL) in 30 years.
“The more it rains, the fields get puddles on them. That’s a maintenance issue,” said Beelen.
Even with good maintenance, the rain has caused delays in the baseball season.
“Normally we start our playoffs about the 20th of August. We’re still not done. So, we will start early in September. We’re going to be going into October this year,” Beelen added.
City officials are aware of the problem and are working on solutions, but repairs will take time.
“There are a lot of green spaces in the city this year that have been really challenged by the weather,” said city councillor David Hill.
While some soccer games will need to be moved, the city is committed to making the necessary repairs, including at the Half Moon Bay Park in Barrhaven.
“We got a response from a resident about this site in particular. We put it into the rec department. They’ve decided they’re going to come in and do some repairs,” Hill said. “It means that there’ll have to be some modifications to the rec cycle, so some soccer will have to happen at other places. But we’ll do the best we can to be responsive and get it fixed up.”
For now, players and teams will need to adapt as the city battles the elements to get fields fit for play.