Wet traffic on athletic fields

With the weather this past week, we have close to 1 inch of precipitation at the Sports Park.  Due the fields being saturated we have had to cancel the soccer event that was scheduled.  In these cases we have to cancel events to protect not only the fields but the participants as well.  Wet and sloppy field conditions are a safety hazard.  Also we must prevent potential future safety issues by protecting our fields now.  Playing on wet field conditions is one of the worst things you can do to a field.  It only takes one game on a wet field to completely destroy a field!  Not only does traffic on a wet field disturb the grass but more importantly it effects the soil and its properties. Here a a few recent articles and university publications that address field traffic and related wet soils.
In the article, Wetness and wealth key foes of native soil fields  March 2009 SportsTurf Magazine.  Dr. AJ Powell states,  Traffic on wet soil displaces the soil, destroys the soil structure and creates little birdbaths in the field,” Powell says.
Additional University articles related to Sports Turf traffic and wet soils...

SPORTS TURF TRAFFIC- - HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? - -
Turf 101: Why turfgrasses hate wet soils