Sports Centre Urges People To Obey Rules
People using the National Sports Centre are being urged to obey the rules to help stop the facilities being damaged – or even people being injured.
Staff said say they consistently see problems, from sprinkler systems being moved, to people taking dogs into the area and even trucks being driven over the field.
“We don’t want to stop people using the facilities and having fun, but we would really ask everyone to respect the rules to avoid unnecessary, and potentially costly damage that could spoil it for other people, or even cause injuries,” said facilities manager Trevor Madeiros.
Mr Madeiros said that although vehicles driving on the fields is not as big an issue as when the North Field opened, people still sometimes drive onto the grass to get around another vehicle or just to turn around.
“The main issue here is that we have irrigation heads less than 12 inches from the edge of the road and sometimes, if a car or truck catches the head just right, it can crush it, resulting in either a broken head or irrigation fixture.
“The comeback is usually that ‘golf carts and mowers drive on the field,’ but these types of vehicles have turf tires that have a much lower PSI rating than road vehicles. Also, if the field is soft after a rain, tire ruts are left on the surface and theses have to be forked back up by hand and sometimes dressed with sand to smooth back out.”
There has also been a problem with the irrigation heads at the hockey field as players often like to turn these by hand to dampen a certain part of the pitch more – or to stop the head from wetting the dugout or grandstand concourse, according to Mr Madeiros.
“The Hockey Federation and groups have been asked numerous times not to tamper with the heads when they are on. If one of the heads was to snap off by rough handling, a person could be seriously injured as the water pressure is at 80 PSI. Also, the time to repair and cost of replacement parts is not insignificant.”
There is a ban on animals in the stadium, said Mr Madeiros, adding: “It is a classic case of the few spoiling it for the majority. Not picking up after your dog means we have to do it and makes it unpleasant for other stadium users.
“It has also happened where doggie mess has been flung onto our mower operators. There are no less than six signs around the facility to inform people of this policy, but dogs are still brought in.”
When the North Field opened, joggers were allowed to run around the inside of the road, on the grass. However, according to Mr Madeiros, a wear pattern soon developed.
“This is a part of the field we can’t aerate due to sprinkler heads being here and we can’t alleviate the resulting compaction. So we have two signs up indicating ‘no unauthorized use of field’ – which includes walking and jogging.
“Most people do heed to this now, but we still some people who think it’s okay to this when no one is around and we do get play groups where the parents often give free-reign to the kids to use the field. People that have bad knees and can’t use the circuit road can pay to use the track or perhaps use the Arboretum which is free.”
Lastly, according to operations manager Craig Tyrrell, there are a number of people that totally ignore the reception booth when entering the Aquatics Centre and South Field. Most people are regulars or coming to collect kids, but everyone should check in at the booth, he said.
“We encourage the public to get memberships and to use the facility, but we ask that everyone follows the posted rules to ensure there is no damage or injury,” added Mr Tyrrell.
It’s a confounding question of why people just don’t follow the rules. Maybe we are so self-centred these days that we only consider our own wants and needs and not that we need to be considerate of others when in our public spaces. Do what you want in the private space of your own home. Ironically, I’m sure people have their own rules they want to be followed by those they allow into that private space. I’m sure they understand the disrespect felt when those rules are ignored. It really is quite simple… do unto others as you would have them do unto you!
Do they not realize that humans are animals? They are in essence telling everyone to stay away!!