THE GREAT INDOORS

The UK climate means that each year, hundreds of thousands of games of football and cricket – as well as training sessions – are lost to the weather. SportsNation looks at three recent projects which will help tackle the impact of inclement weather on sport

The UK’s changeable weather often dominates small talk and other social conversations across the UK. So much so that our European and North American peers see us, Britons, as being obsessed with weather.

WEATHER AND SPORT

When it comes to sport, the weather has no less significance. At an elite level, weather can be seen as one of the many variables that affect performances and even results. What will the ground be like at Aintree? Will the roof on Centre Court at Wimbledon be open? Will there be a full day of play at Lord’s? How strong will the winds be at the Old Course, St Andrews?

But when it comes to grassroots and community sport, there is a serious side to bad weather. It can seriously disrupt and prevent games and training sessions from going ahead – depriving people from opportunities to take part in physical activity. And the more games are called off due to extreme conditions, the more likely it is that players will lose interest in participating in the sport.

The FA estimates that 120,000 games of football are lost every season thanks to adverse conditions. This is the equivalent of 7 million minutes of community football not played. Last year, the number of young people who said that the weather stopped them from doing any physical activity rose by 40%.

Even if the matches or training sessions go ahead, motivation drops off. It’s not always fun to play or train in hot temperatures, on frozen pitches, on flooded surfaces or when high winds are enough to effect a session or game. As a result, clubs suffer the headache of having to deal with frequent cancellations and no-shows, which poses a risk to their finances, player retention and the enthusiasm of their coaches.

There are enough barriers to participation in the UK, from cost to the lack of adequate facilities and volunteers. While those can, to some extent, be controlled by investment, is there anything we can do about weather?

Yes, there is. An indoor, climate-controlled facility can guarantee playing time and they are increasingly being built to deal with both winter and summer weathers – from professional football clubs to community organisations. SportsNation looks at three separate projects which are enabling three major sports – football, rugby and cricket – to be played no matter what the weather is.

The long-term revenue potential and the benefits to overall public health and wellbeing are much greater if you can guarantee that training will go ahead and the match is on

COPRI SYSTEMS WORKS WITH FOOTBALL AND RUGBY

SAPCA member, CopriSystems, has installed a modern football training centre at the site of the former County Ground Bowls Club for Swindon Town FC Community Foundation. Housing two artificial five-a-side football pitches with spectator viewing area, the venue provides an accessible hub and comfortable environment for all ages and abilities to play sport, as well as a safe space for more vulnerable groups to engage in society. Its purpose has gone beyond the provision of football to the provision of an inclusive community.

“Obviously, installing a venue such as this requires significant investment but what is encouraging is hearing about the different sporting bodies that are starting to join forces and therefore funding so they can develop training centres that are accessible to multiple sports clubs throughout the year,” CopriSystems says.

In addition to the Swindon project, Coprisystems has recently finished a mammoth project in Swansea, which received investment from both the Welsh RFU and the Welsh FA so it could be used for rugby and football. Considering rugby and football are traditional outdoor winter sports, the two projects are helping to grow participation at grassroots level.

“The long-term revenue potential and the benefits to overall public health and wellbeing are much greater if you can guarantee that training will go ahead and the match is on,” CopriSystems says.

INSIDE EDGE

Bradford Park Avenue Cricket Club, a community cricket ground in Yorkshire, is a popular venue that is used by thousands of Bradfordians every year. However, bad weather was increasingly playing havoc with schedules, from training to matches. There were also limited opportunities to accommodate the huge demand for cricket during the winter months, when the ground was out of bounds.

As a result, the local cricket club was looking to create a solution which would allow year-round play at the site. The cost to build an indoor cricket nets facility with up to five lanes, complete with heating and lighting, however, could have been anything upwards of £5 million pounds, making it an expensive prospect. Therefore, the club set out to find a solution which would increase the usage of an outdoor facility and boost participation, while limiting the costs involved.

Two SAPCA members combined to provide the club with the perfect answer. Total-Play designed an ECB-approved ‘hybrid’ – a non-turf cricket system for outdoor use – while Fordingbridge designed and supplied the structure to cover the playing area.

The ‘Cricket Shield’ facility features two 40mx20m covered domes with a state-of-the- art lighting system, elite cricket surface and a retractable netting system allowing for training and matchplay. The 10-lane indoor facility enables play all year round and in any weather. It provides organisations the chance to increase usage levels of a typical outdoor non-turf facility without the prohibitive costs of a permanent building.

It features an ECB-approved playing surface designed to simulate the performance of a natural pitch; a bespoke lighting system that meets the standards stated by the ECB; and the safety of a ball-stop netting system designed to meet ECB guidance notes.

The Cricket Shield can also be used over an existing playing area, natural or artificial. It can host three, five and seven lanes, with a changing area for added player comfort in poor weather.

It’s given everyone an opportunity to play cricket all year round, instead of just the traditional April to September time frame

Since the Cricket Shield has opened, the facility has had over 15,000 people use the system, ranging from single lane bookings to courts for tournaments. It has had a massive impact on participation.

The system has improved access to coaching with more one-to-one coaching available to participants. Bradford Park Avenue has also hosted the county pathways coaching programme.

The number of full court bookings at Bradford Park Avenue is over 100 and the demographic of the users is diverse It has been used by cricketers of all standards – from grass roots to international players.

Nasa Hussain, Facilities Manager and Head Groundskeeper at Bradford Park Avenue, says: “When we opened the facility, no one could have imagined just how successful it’s been. It’s a brilliant, state-of-the-art netting facility used by both the community and professional teams – and the impact has been massive.

“It’s given everyone an opportunity to play cricket all year round, instead of just the traditional April to September timeframe. We’re so privileged to be able to continue playing outdoors throughout the winter. We deliberately only charge a minimal cost to make sure it’s accessible to all. Everyone’s welcome. The love of cricket is what brings people here.”

A spokesperson for Total Play added: “The Bradford Park Avenue project has been a game changer, a pioneering new facility that transforms a traditional outdoor cricket practice facility into a covered facility for all round use.”