Guidelines For weather issues at UFO Events
Weather Issues
The event organizer should take competitor and dog safety as their first priority. This could mean a temporary halt or pause at an event, or an absolute stoppage of the event, which could result in cancelation or a postponement.
If an event must be canceled due to weather before it starts: The event organizer is urged to do everything they can to communicate this information to competitors, and notify the UFO Board as soon as possible. Facebook, website updates and word of mouth are critical. If possible, the event will be rescheduled. When scheduling the competition, the event organizer might take heed of historical weather at the event site. If there is a possibility that weather might cause a cancellation, they can take these precautions: see if they can schedule the event for Saturday, with Sunday as a backup date; leave a weekend open later in the season that they might need to move the event to. These things are not always possible. That is understood. In the event a competition cannot be rescheduled, it will be canceled for the year.
In the event of bad weather that occurs DURING the competition: If an event organizer feels that the bad weather is temporary, and the event may be safely started later, they should announce a pause and advise competitors to take whatever safety precautions might be wise.
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If an event must be canceled due to weather before it starts: The event organizer is urged to do everything they can to communicate this information to competitors, and notify the UFO Board as soon as possible. Facebook, website updates and word of mouth are critical. If possible, the event will be rescheduled. When scheduling the competition, the event organizer might take heed of historical weather at the event site. If there is a possibility that weather might cause a cancellation, they can take these precautions: see if they can schedule the event for Saturday, with Sunday as a backup date; leave a weekend open later in the season that they might need to move the event to. These things are not always possible. That is understood. In the event a competition cannot be rescheduled, it will be canceled for the year.
In the event of bad weather that occurs DURING the competition: If an event organizer feels that the bad weather is temporary, and the event may be safely started later, they should announce a pause and advise competitors to take whatever safety precautions might be wise.
- Hail, heavy rain, other precipitation, or wind - if any weather makes it unsafe to play, the event organizer may pause the event until the weather passes.
- Lightning Guidelines - lightning can strike within 10 miles of a storm. As a general guideline, the event organizer should observe a 15-mile safety radius around the event.
- Any lightning strike within 15 miles should be seen as a reason to pause the event. If lightning is observed, the event organizer should suspend the event. After 30 minutes from the last observation, it may be safe to restart, but organizers should use their best judgment.
- Lightning strikes can be verified by a lightning reporting app/website. If there is no cell/internet service, any audible thunder indicates lightning is at least within a 10-mile radius, and this can be used as a rough measurement.
- if the preliminary rounds are only partially complete, then the event must be considered "Canceled" and the event organizer should treat it as if no rounds were run.
- For Combined Divisions: if only 1 round of freestyle is complete, the final score is just that freestyle score - no multiplier is necessary
- if the first round of freestyle and the first round of T&C are both complete, the final score is 4 times the freestyle score, plus the T&C score (4 X FS1+ TC1).
- For all T&C divisions, if only 1 round is complete before the event must be halted, then the final score is just the score for that round.