Deciding your weather-cancellation rules in advance keeps a rainy game day calm instead of chaotic. This protocol, rainout message, and makeup-game policy work for any outdoor rec, youth, or adult league team. Set them once and reuse all season.
Weather cancellation protocol Copy

How we handle weather.

  • Who decides: [Coach/Manager name], in line with the league's call when there is one.
  • When: A decision is posted by [2 hours before start] at the latest.
  • Where: Always in [the team app] first. If it's not posted there, we're still on.
  • Default: Light rain, we play. Lightning, unsafe fields, or a league cancellation, we don't.

Please don't message individually asking if it's on. Watch the channel and you'll know the moment we do.

Rainout message Copy

🌧️ [Today's game/practice] is CANCELLED: [reason: unsafe field / lightning / league call].

No need to head out. A makeup will be posted here once [the league / we] confirm a date. Stay dry — see you [next scheduled event].

Makeup-game policy Copy

Makeup games. When an event is rained out, we'll post the makeup date in [the app] as soon as it's set, usually within [48 hours]. RSVP to the makeup like any other game; if a new date doesn't work for enough players, we'll forfeit rather than field a short-handed team. No penalty for missing a rescheduled date you couldn't have planned for.

When you have to call a game, a Firstplace announcement reaches the whole team at once, with a notification. No group-text pile-up.
Author Steven Kovar
Founder of Firstplace Last Updated Usage Part of the team management guide. Free to copy and adapt for your team.