January 30, 2012
The general abandonment of last weekend's Saturday pennants by the association created a significant talking point in many clubs. It also led to a fair amount of confusion about the extreme weather policy and procedure of BowlsWA. Many people may not appreciate how very difficult it is to fully understand the "intent" when writing a policy or procedure.
I approached BowlsWA's CEO Ken Pride to see if he could answer a question or three that might help clarify things.
I thank Ken very much for accepting an invitation to respond to my queries
Ken could you explain the "intent" of the extreme weather policy/procedure as it may not be clearly understood by many?
We know that weather forecasting is not an exact science and you do not have to look very far for relevant examples. The Friday forecast (27/1/12) was 41 degrees and only reached 37* and the original Saturday forecast (28/1/12) was for 42* but was downgraded to 38* on Saturday morning. The actual temperature on the day reached 41.9 degrees.
On top of the general forecast come the local conditions where there can be 4 or 5 degrees difference in temperature between the coast and inland areas.
Is that the reason for assessing extreme weather conditions locally in most instances?
Allowing that BowlsWA has these procedures in place for managing play in extreme weather conditions, why was it viewed necessary to call a general abandonment of the fixture some 26 hours before commencement of play?
There have been various suggestions by our site visitors as to why the abandonment was called 26 hours before the scheduled start of play. Was one of those reasons the scheduled Friday night Premier League game?
What would have been the outcome should that game have been completed and the general abandonment called on the Saturday?
With the temperature reaching nearly 42 degrees on Saturday afternoon the decision to abandon appears justified. This could have been very different if the maximum temperature had only reached the revised forecast of 38 degrees.
Is a general abandonment something that can be expected in the future and would it be applied under similar conditions or would there be a change of tack after the experience of the forecasters not getting it right on two occasions for round eleven?
With the number of synthetic surfaces now in play, why is play on them subject to the same rules as grass surfaces? It is common knowledge that elevated temperatures are the rule when playing on a large number of the synthetics.
Are there alternative provisions being considered for synthetic surfaces?
One final one raised by visitors to our site involving the recently completed final of the State Singles.
Given that temperatures above 40 degrees will at least result in a suspension of play to monitor conditions, why was this provision not followed on a day where the temperature reached over 41 degrees?