Field Closures
League games may be cancelled when fields are unplayable due to bad weather.
- Fields may be closed by the Vancouver Parks Board, as indicated on their field status page. For weekends, they make their decisions on Friday by 1:00pm, and we inform our members by 3:00pm.
- If the forecast is uncertain, the Parks Board may leave fields open with a 'user discretion' warning, meaning the VUL can make the decision. If we expect the fields to be unplayable, we will cancel games by the following times:
- 3:00pm on Friday for Saturday games
- 6:00pm on Saturday for Sunday games
- 2:00pm for weekday games (same day)
- If the fields were expected to be playable, but the weather worsens overnight, we try to check fields on the morning of game day, and post an update if possible.
- In all cases, captains are expected to use good judgment when they arrive at their field and cancel games if appropriate. According to the Park Board, fields are not playable when there is:
- standing water or large muddy areas on playing surface, or
- frost or frozen playing surface.
Artificial Turf: The Park Board has published a set of terms & conditions for artificial turf fields. All VUL players must abide by these conditions.
Communication Methods
We post updates about fields to the @vulgames Twitter account. Those updates appear on the home page under "Game Status Messages", and you can also receive them via SMS (see below). If you do not see any update, that means games are ON as scheduled (but you may still need to cancel if your field is unplayable).
If games are cancelled, in addition to posting to Twitter we will also send all captains an email.
Note that one team cannot unilaterally cancel a game due to the weather. If the fields are open, it is expected that both teams will show up to play. If one team does not show, they are in default. However, if both captains communicate in advance, they can jointly agree to cancel or postpone a game.
SMS and Twitter
If you want to receive Game Status messages via SMS, you need to setup a Twitter account.
1. Create an Account
• by SMS: See the instructions on the Twitter website. The shortcode for Canada is 21212.
• or by web: First create an account, and then activate your phone by SMS, or activate via the web.
2. Follow @vulgames
Once your account is setup, text "follow vulgames" to 21212. You will now receive Field Status Messages by SMS.
If you ever want to stop receiving our messages, just send "off vulgames" to 21212.
FAQ
If you have questions about using Twitter from your phone, see the Twitter Phone FAQs.
Note that we use the @vulgames account for outgoing messages only.
