Taken from our Policies document, the following is recommended,
Weather and Other Issues
The safety of all participants is the prime concern of all umpires when it comes to inclement weather, temperatures, air conditions, fitness of field conditions, or other circumstances/ conditions.
Prior to the start of each season, associations will be reminded by the CASUA that the home team for each game has certain responsibilities as follows:
Decide by at least two hours prior to game time as to whether conditions allow for the game to start. If it is judged the conditions are unsafe/unsuitable to start the game, the home team is to notify the CASUA and the visiting team that the game has been canceled.
Contact the assigner by
- texting or phoning the Assignor
- or (as a last resort) emailing the Assignor
Factors to be considered include:
- Rain is heavy, has caused water to pool on the diamond, and/or caused unsafe field conditions.
- Forecasted temperature in the host community at the start of the game is less than 10 degrees Celsius.
- Environment Canada has indicated significant air quality issues by setting the air quality index at 7 or above on a scale of 10 in the host community area.
- Other circumstances (for example, tornado or thunderstorm warnings, natural disaster, etc)
Once a game is underway (at the conclusion of the plate conference), the decision on whether a game continues is the responsibility of the plate umpire. The plate umpire’s decision to stop and/or end a game will be based on the following factors:
- Temperature dips significantly.
- Rain is hard enough that it causes a visibility issue, water starts to pool, or field conditions become unsafe.
- Thunder is heard 30 seconds or less after seeing lightning. Game is delayed until 30 minutes after the last occurrence.
- Field conditions become unsafe for any reason.
- Wind causes visibility issues or other hazards.
- Any other situation that develops during the game which the plate umpire deems to impact the safety of the participants.
If more than one diamond is being used at the same facility, if the decision is made by a CASUA umpire to stop a game on one diamond due to weather issues, all other diamonds staffed by CASUA umpires should stop as well.