Tips From The Pros

CAREFULLY DEPLOYING AND USING FIELD COVERS

“Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” – Charles Dudley (or Mark Twain, depending on who you read).

But today’s sports field managers do something about it as they gently manipulate and protect against nature’s sometimes extreme winter precipitation events and storms. A good rain/snow field cover can be your best game or practice saving asset.

I previously looked at some of the basic care and maintenance items for your rain/snow field cover. Here, I’m going to take a bite at the ongoing and potentially perilous issue of tarp deployment and tarp strike (removal of tarp from field), especially on or nearly before game-day under league or conference mandates.

Not a solution-to-the-problem blog, rather these are my best tips from numerous experiences deploying field covers in the wind. I don’t claim to have the answers for when an umpire or some other game official calls for a field covering well after the pre-storm winds and rain have beset the ballpark or stadium. The answer will come through a high standard of communication between the field manager and the decision-maker(s). Policies should be written by club or league as to how decisions are made that include the paramount safety of the field cover deployment team.

There are times when it is just not safe to deploy or strike a secure field cover in my opinion. No part of this blog is intended to have you think it is safe to deploy field covers in high winds or other severe winter weather. But there are times when you have to deploy in “nuisance winds.”

When deploying field covers, there are two kinds of deployment basically: non-game related and game related. The difference being that the field manager has much more leeway to deploy the tarp against storms and winds when done as a routine non-game related task. It’s often the game-day or near game-day deployments mandated by leagues that can make knowing how to deploy in challenging conditions very useful.

While you do need to work and think quickly under such conditions, resist the temptation to project a crazed fire-drill attitude. Keep calm. Explain to the field covering team that leaders may have to speak loudly, but that does not mean they are angry. Stay chill.

Find and use several good weather forecasting resources you trust and keep your field covering crew up to date on the latest information. Knowing the possible weather threats will keep everyone calmer.

Get your stadium audio/PA team in the loop and have them silence music or loud audio they may be playing. You need radio or other communications with them directly. It’s hard enough to hear instructions when it’s windy without competing with the PA system. Explain that this is a worker safety issue.

First and foremost, everyone on the field cover team has to know what “windward” and “leeward” means in regards to field covering. Windward is the upwind side of the cover. It is where the troubles typically begin when deploying or striking in windy conditions. Strong winds that get under the windward side can overpower the cover team and the tarp “blows up.” You want your best and most experienced people working the windward side, trying to keep wind from getting under the windward side and blowing up the field cover.

Leeward describes the downwind edge of any particular field cover you are deploying or folding/rolling up. Generally, you see far fewer issues on the leeward edge of the field cover. If the windward side is secured, the leeward edge tends to just flap as the wind blows over it, not letting air underneath the cover. In my experience, you need about half or less the number of staff on the leeward side as you do on the windward side.

Figure 1. Simple windward/leeward set-up. Easiest to manage. More people stationed working the windward edge than the leeward edge. Winds coming from the north are called northerly winds.

Usually you have to deal with winds that swirl in the stadium or ballpark. Unless you are dealing with an open end, you can often see winds in an opposite direction inside the stadium than outside because the stands may curl the wind back under.

Rarely do you get a perfect east, west, north, or south wind and you usually have two windward and two leeward edges to deal with. There is usually a dominant windward and a lesser windward edge.

In pre-game or pre-deployment planning, the field cover team needs to understand these concepts so that only a relatively few of the team is working the leeward edges and more resources are working the dominant windward edges. It’s critical that field cover crews can think on their feet and react to changes in wind intensity and direction.

A good field operation will have already practiced coverings well before the season to train new staff and refresh experienced teams.

Figure 2. More typically, winds may be in a cross direction of some kind creating two windward and two leeward edges on your field cover. A wind out of the northwest is called a northwesterly wind.

Field covers are generally unrolled off a large drum and then unfolded by the cover team. When pulling out a fold or flipping the cover to drain water, keep the edge as close to the ground as possible to prevent air from getting underneath.

When a big gust comes and starts whipping air underneath, train the team to stop and sit on their edge until the gust dies down. Big waves created by wind gusts can create a powerful yank on an edge. Sometimes you have to let go and let the energy escape.

Be on the edge of the tarp and avoid being out on the tarp when possible. Wait until gusts subside before venturing onto a wind-whipped field cover. Train the field cover team on this.

Sometimes, the operation will require a field cover to be slid into position after unrolling and unfolding. If snow or water collects on top of the field cover, it can become extremely heavy. In such cases, using blowers to remove water can make it much easier to handle.

The good news is that if you get your field cover into position before too much precipitation accumulates, the weight can help hold the cover down against winds.

Another challenge is when trying to slide the cover over wet grass. Water can cause the cover to stick to the grass. In this situation, “billowing” can help by lifting and dropping edges slightly to allow air under the cover and break the suction.

Turf Tips 101: Other Field Cover Deployment Tips

For longer duration, non-game related field coverings and when using vented evergreen covers:

• Lay out pins, nails, hammers, and other tools in advance and pre-stage what you will need around the field before deploying the cover. For longer duration field cover deployments, appropriately sized nails are sometimes used to secure the edges if the field cover is made with grommets. Nails (or pins used in lightweight vented covers) are not intended to hold against powerful winds, but rather to hold down the edges of a deployed and positioned field cover and prevent wind from getting underneath and building large waves that could blow the cover off. If wind is kept from getting under a deployed cover, it can stay down in fairly strong winds. The key is close spacing between pins. Good, tight cover pulls, free from wrinkles, are better able to withstand wind. Insert pins or nails at a slight inward angle under the cover. In longer duration deployments, wind waves tend to pound the leeward edge and begin lifting pins. A wind shift can then allow wind underneath and blow the cover off. Angling pins inward makes this less likely. Make sure pins or nails are short enough to avoid damaging underground systems such as irrigation or drainage lines. Flag or mark shallow areas where components may be located.
• Train your field cover team well and often. Use a simple demonstration with a sheet of paper and a small fan to explain windward and leeward tarp-edge concepts and how to unroll and unfold field covers. Train non-field personnel in advance and emphasize listening to field team leaders. Explain that leaders must speak loudly so they can be heard across the field over background noise. Use north, south, east, and west for communication rather than left or right. Field-specific terms such as left field, right field, first base, and third base also work well. Put your best leaders on wind-prone edges and maintain radio communication so staff can be redirected quickly when conditions change.
• When deploying a multi-piece tarp, secure the first section as much as possible before moving on to the next. A small piece of duct tape on each side at the center of each tarp section can help align the pieces. Keep Velcro and other enclosures clean and free of debris. Some operations park heavier equipment on corners of the cover for added security against wind gusts. Another practice is using sand-filled buckets to hold down edges. This method is labor intensive and can create a mess if the cover blows off, but it may be the only option on artificial infill turf where pins cannot be used. The key with any anchors or weights is close spacing to prevent wind from getting underneath.
• Get a good, reliable wind forecast. Wind is one of the hardest weather elements to forecast accurately. Local airports often provide wind discussions, and National Weather Service pages may include scientific or aviation forecast discussions that detail wind behavior. These forecasts are most useful short-term and should be checked frequently when deploying covers. With experience, prevailing wind patterns at a stadium or ballpark become familiar. In my experience: 0–10 MPH can be an aggravation, 10–20 MPH can become unworkable without sufficient staff, and over 20 MPH can be difficult or impossible even for well-trained teams. These apply to steady winds and especially gusts.
• For lightweight vented covers typically secured with U-pins, use simple pouched construction belts so crew members can easily carry pins and rubber mallets.

Resources of the Month:

Wind maps and forecasting tools including Windfinder.com.

End Quote:

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” – old proverb