It was fun while it lasted. But nobody affiliated with the BC high school field lacrosse championships could have known that winter was coming.
Snow that fell late Wednesday afternoon and into the evening, then resumed Thursday morning has caused organizers to cancel the remainder of the tournament that started at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park on Monday.
The tournament attracted senior and junior teams from across Metro Vancouver as well as Vancouver Island.
Kathleen Reinheimer, Coquitlam’s parks manager, said city staff worked with the organizers to monitor and assess field conditions every day to keep the tournament on the rails.
Poor conditions on Cunnings Field from previous snowfalls and persistent cold temperatures had already caused organizers to juggle several games after the field was closed by the city of Coquitlam. But it was open and usable again by Wednesday, along with Mobilio and Ted Fridge fields.
Never quite had a night like this playing lacrosse! Snow shovels and snow balls during the game! @NDSSIslanders @BCHighschoollax #snowgame pic.twitter.com/JU68JZ3YQg
— NDSS Field Lacrosse (@ndsslacrosse) March 7, 2019
We are playing under the lights and a bit of snow tonight . Hoping for some warm weather to clear this up for tomorrow ! @signaturelax #orangelaxballs came in handy today !! pic.twitter.com/t5N8JLuBqN
— BCHighschoollax (@BCHighschoollax) March 7, 2019
As the latest snowfall began late Wednesday afternoon, games continued at Town Centre Park even as the playing fields were covered by a layer of snow.
But on Thursday morning, after another round of heavy snow and more predicted to fall, the fields were closed and organizers posted an announcement on the BC High School Field Lacrosse Twitter feed advising the tournament had been cancelled due to inclement weather.
Championship games were scheduled to be played Friday.
Reinheimer said other sports have been affected as well by field closures, including soccer, rugby, field hockey and track and field. She said even though the facilities at Town Centre Park are field turf, they’re “rock hard and definitely won’t be safe for play until the snow melts and they thaw.”
