The City’s Recreation and Parks Department’s flexibility and diligence throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has been a worthwhile investment for the City’s sports field co-ordinators. The department maintained over 140 community sports fields by tending to grass, nurturing sod thickness and assessing playability. As local sports clubs resume their activities, priority has been placed on strengthening relationships with various sports federations to reduce safety risks.
The City’s Recreation and Parks Department started its strategic engagements with all sports federations in February 2021. Workshops were held to discuss the impact of Covid-19 regulations on clubs and how the return of players to City sports fields would be managed. Soccer, rugby and cricket representatives reviewed an assessment of all fields presented by the City for each area, and were advised of the triage system still in place.
‘The City of Cape Town is working closely with the various sport federations to ensure that the many sports field are accessible and ready for the busy sport season ahead. City sports fields are important community facilities where residents can practice their sport and where young players and upcoming stars can hone their skills and participate on a competitive level. These are also places where communities can get together as spectators or to practice,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
Regular assessment of sports fields is based on the triage system, which is a scoring system indicating the condition of fields and their available usage hours for sustainable play throughout the season. The system is being updated on a weekly basis.
The following scores are allocated, based on the uniformity of overall grass cover, effective water drainage (without forming puddles), as well as the degree to which the playing surface is smooth and pliable for ball roll and player cushioning:
- > 75%, allows for eight hours weekly usage per field (green)
- 60% – 74%, six hours usage (yellow)
- 40 – 59%, four hours usage (amber)
- < 40%, field is closed (red)
Approximately eighty percent of all fields are deemed usable and can be sustainably operated in accordance with the triage system. The fields are assessed every week and so their status may well change, depending on the amount of rainfall we receive. The City has also invested in boreholes and alternative sources for water supply for irrigation.
In addition to responsible use of fields, clubs are required to have their checks and balances in place to meet national Covid-19 regulations. Extensive work has been undertaken by sports federations to regularly update the City on which local clubs meet the requirements to resume practice sessions, based on the club demonstrating its ability to implement safety precautions. This includes limiting the number of players and spectators at sessions, screening and access control, social distancing and regular sanitising of hands and equipment.
‘The federations are playing a significant role by accepting responsibility for issuing certificates to Covid-19 compliant clubs, which is a prerequisite by the City to secure facility bookings. The certificate validates that the club has systems in place to manage its activities in accordance with the national rules and regulations. We commend the federations for the exceptionally good work that they are doing – this is a direct result of the working relationship between all stakeholders,’ added Councillor Badroodien
Key highlights of the season thus far have been the successful implementation of the cricket pitch maintenance plan, which has been rolled out since June last year. The City appointed six experienced turf maintenance service providers who have a two-year contract to manage fertilising, mowing and watering of cricket ovals and scarification of grass(a technique used to cut grass close to the soil, in order to remove excess cover, allowing air and light to pass through, which makes the grass healthier from the root). This has resulted in many cricket pitches being restored to a relatively good state.
In Strandfontein for example, the main cricket oval has shown significant improvements due to the completed installation of a new irrigation system.
‘We all have a shared responsibility to care for these facilities so that every resident has the opportunity to access sports fields and to participate in a sport. We would once again like to encourage residents and the various sporting codes to work closely with the City and report any suspicious behaviour at sport facilities so that we can limit the risk of vandalism,’ said Councillor Badroodien.