Sutherland Shire Council has defended its sports fields closure policy following criticism children are being deprived of fitness opportunities.
An Oyster Bay parent, who has been a player, coach or manager of sport in the shire for 40 years, said in a letter to the Leader grounds were being closed too frequently and in an arbitrary fashion.
He said his three children, aged from 12 to 18, had been enjoying a variety of sports from when they were three.
"Again early this morning (February 19), we receive a disappointing text from the Oztag association stating all ovals are closed [by] councils and tag is off," he wrote.
"Most seasons, you play approximately 15 games with finals etc and since October, [with bushfires and storms], we have had 6-7 weeks of games called off with similar weather conditions like today...when the forecast is sunny and 30 degrees".
The parent queried whether one person on council made the decision?
"In this age of device overuse, shouldn't we collectively be trying to allow our kids who pay approximately $100 registration per season to play every game possible?
"So what if our kids might get dirty some weeks, it's not the SCG we are trying to protect.
"Please let our kids play except for extreme storm conditions.
"Do these decision makers have short memories from their childhoods?"
A council spokesman said the council strived to support local residents to maintain active lifestyles through providing a wealth of opportunities to engage in organised sport, as well as other physical recreational activities and active transport options.
"While council endeavours to maintain ready access to sports grounds and other recreational facilities, it is inevitable that some facilities will need to be closed in instances where public safety or the integrity of playing surfaces cannot be guaranteed," he said.
"Council staff conduct daily on-site assessments of all council owned and operation sports fields and facilities to ensure that they are safe for any scheduled sports fixtures or other recreational activities.
"Where any playing surface is deemed unsafe, council staff work to inform all affected sports parties in a timely manner through email notification issued directly to affected sports organisations as well as advice posted to council's website and available via the council wet weather phone line.
"This policy was enacted after two significant recent storm events, with council sports fields closed for a total of five days after storms on February 10 and 19.
"The impact of these rain events resulted in fields requiring additional recovery time in these instances.
"Additionally, sports organisations may make their own determination to cancel scheduled fixtures or training activities where they feel the safety of participants may be at risk, as was commonly the case during recent bushfire activity due to concerns over smoke."
The council's wet weather phone line number is (02) 9710 0105.
