Field Status

Chilliwack FC utilizes fields within the city that are owned by the City of Chilliwack. Our club, as users of the fields must follow the city’s guidance on field closures. If our teams are caught playing or training on closed fields the city can refuse us the right to use their fields. The city can also refuse Chilliwack FC use of fields if their rules about the use of turf fields are not followed.

Please check the City of Chilliwack Online Field Status for the latest updates.

Please note: Chilliwack FC does reserve the right to close fields even when the City of Chilliwack has kept them open. This may be done occasionally when a sudden storm or change of weather happens after the decision to keep fields open for a weekend and we feel that using the fields would cause damage to them.

Field Closure Process

Information on Weather Related Cancellations

There is often confusion on a rainy and cold weekend mornings as to whether or not a game is cancelled. The following information can answer most of your questions. Games will be cancelled in either 1 of 2 situations:

1. The City of Chilliwack closes the fields due to inclement weather. If, due to excessive rain or snow during the preceding week, the City believes weekend use of the fields are not playable or play will likely cause excessive damage, then the City will make a decision to close its fields. For weekend play the City makes and posts its decision on its website by not later than Friday mid-afternoon. In these circumstances our coordinators will notify all coaches on Friday afternoon/early evening and will post the closure on the main page of our Club’s website (www.chilliwackfc.com). It is up to each coach to contact parents.

City Parks staff responsible for these decisions do the necessary field inspections on Friday and make their decision based on those inspections. These staff members do not work weekends. Thus if on a Friday the City decides to close the fields for weekend play then the fields will be closed and all games will be cancelled, even if the weather improves overnight and on Saturday morning. Similarly if the City decides on a Friday to leave the fields open for weekend play then, as far as the City is concerned, the fields will remain open for weekend play, even if the weather turns nasty overnight and on Saturday morning.

2. There may be occasions where the City decides to leave the fields open but we at the CFC decides Friday afternoon/early Saturday morning to cancel all games. This would happen if, due to snow, extreme cold or excessive overnight rain we are of the view that it would not be prudent to play either because of player safety concerns or because of a concern that fields will suffer excessive damage. In these situations we will email all coaches before 8:00 a.m. and have the cancellation notice posted on the main page of our website by 8:00 a.m.

On weekends where the weather is poor, check our website Friday pm. If there is no cancellation notice then fields are open. Check again Saturday morning around 8:00 a.m. for any further closure notice. If you see no closure notice on our website by 8:00 a.m. then fields are open and the games are on.

Finally, it is ultimately up to the referee and the coaches on any given day as to whether or not a game is played. There may be times when the fields are open and the Club has not cancelled the games but a particular field may not be safe to play on due to excessive standing water or frozen conditions.

Air Quality Policy

During the summer months, British Columbia and the Lower Mainland usually sees increased forest fire activity that affects the air quality in Chilliwack. Under the guidance of BC Soccer and based on readings from the City of Chilliwack’s website CFC has implemented the following guidelines.

BC Soccer Air Quality Safety Guidelines:

Player health and safety is a high priority for BC Soccer, thus it is recommended to err on the side of caution if ever in doubt in any situation regarding the health and safety of players.
Click here for BC Soccer Guidelines
Click here for Current Chilliwack Air Quality Readings

If the reading is 7 or above, practices/training cancelled by CFC.

Chilliwack FC reserves the right to cancel training if we feel it’s in the best interest of our members to do so despite the readings not meeting the “recommended” standards.

Please contact your coach if you have questions about training session cancellations.