While lacrosse is played in the rain (and in some cases on Long Island, snow and freezing rain), we still need to be mindful of weather conditions that would create a safety hazard for our players, families, and officials.

In the event that a game will be called-off or delayed due to weather concerns or field issues, our Board of Directors and the Suffolk County PAL management will do their best to notify the coaches, who will then notify the families accordingly. Please check our website, Facebook & Twitter for updates.

LIGHTENING
The following is the Mad Dogs Lacrosse emergency action plan to deal with severe weather, including lightning.

• Individuals responsible for game management and medical issues should be designated.  The umpire usually makes the call to leave the field in inclement weather, but coaches and others should provide input.
• A person should be designated to watch the weather. If a thunderstorm is imminent, the practice/game should be suspended or postponed. If lightning is seen or thunder heard, activities should stop and everyone should seek shelter.
• The designated “weather watcher” should consult television news, Internet, cable and satellite weather programming, lightning monitoring systems, and the National Weather Service.
• In case of lightning, people should be moved to safe locations like buildings with grounded wiring and plumbing and vehicles, including school buses, with a hard metal roof and the windows shut. Some unsafe locations to avoid are the showers or plumbing of a building, small covered outdoor shelters, areas connected to or near light poles, towers and fences, and any location that is at the highest point in the area.
• To reduce the chance of lightning-related injury:
• Thunder may be hard to hear, and lightning may be difficult to see.
• Cell phones and cordless phones are preferred over landlines.
• If one feels the hair on their head, neck or arms stand on end, or feel skin tingling, then a lightning strike may be imminent.
• Everyone must wait 30 minutes between the last sound of thunder and/or the last flash of lightning before resuming activity.
• Initiate emergency treatment immediately if a person is struck

FIELD CONDITIONS
The Board of Directors with the coaches and officials will make a determination if the field is not appropriate to play on and will do their best to notify players in a timely fashion.