Auckland Council (AC) and Auckland Rugby League (ARL) continue to cancel kids rugby league games whenever the fields are a bit wet. The players, parents, team managers, and coaches are fed up with these overly cautious and ridiculous cancellations.

It rains a lot in winter in Auckland. If we keep cancelling games due to rain (often times rain earlier in the week and not even on Saturday!) we will end up playing very few games all season. As global warming makes it even wetter (as we've already experienced this past year), this trend will only get worse.

If these decisions are to protect the fields for the senior competitions, then perhaps kids can play on all but the one field that needs to be saved for them. Most RL clubs have multiple fields. Or the seniors can take the early morning time slots and play on their pristine fields, and let the kids play after them.

If these decisions are to protect Auckland Council fields in general, then why do rugby union and football/soccer games rarely get cancelled, despite also using AC fields? There is a double standard here that treats rugby league as a second-class citizen to other sports. Can we have one rule that applies to all sports? If the weather is good enough for a soccer game, it's good enough for a league game too.

If the fields can't handle a few games on a wet surface, perhaps we can stop resurfacing the soccer fields every couple of years and spread some of that money to rugby league fields as well. Let's give all kids an equal opportunity to enjoy their winter sports.

And lastly, if the AC and ARL are intent on continuing to cancel games when it's wet, perhaps RL needs to become a summer sport. We'd lose Kiwi Tag but at least have a chance for kids to play some league in Auckland.

ARL are at risk of losing juniors to other sports like rugby and soccer that continue to play all winter. It's hard enough competing with these popular sports for players, and even harder when they know we rarely get to play. The frequency of these cancellations is becoming a cringy ongoing joke that's turning our competition into an embarrassment.

We urge the Auckland Council and Auckland Rugby League to reconsider this policy of frequent game cancellations and start cancelling games only due to extreme or dangerous weather. A little mud isn't going to bother us. We all know it's going to be wet most of the winter. Let the kids play!

Please sign this petition if you'd like to see a change in how Auckland Council and ARL manage field closures and game cancellations for our winter sport-loving kids.