Preparation of municipal sports fields in Chatham is about two to three weeks behind schedule.
That's according to Deb Veccia, supervisor of parks and horticulture for Chatham.
"I think we started cutting grass last year on this week to have our sports fields ready to go for the first week of May," says Veccia.
She's asking people to stay off the fields and diamonds because they are so wet -- some are even flooded.
"We're monitoring that on a daily basis to see how quickly they're draining off," says Veccia. "But as far as the excessive rain, most the fields are able to withstand a fair amount of rain, but there are a couple out there that are still holding water."
Veccia says if people play on the fields now, damage could be extensive.
"By going on them while the grass is actively growing, it does some permanent damage that we'll probably never be able to catch up from because the fields are so excessively used throughout the summer months," she says.
Veccia says some sun and wind would help.
"We're ready to go, it's just a matter of waiting for Mother Nature to allow us to move forward with what we need to do. Our original target date for all of our sports fields to have them ready to go was April 30," she says. "However, we'll make a judgement call on that closer to that date with all of our sports field user groups."
Fields in other communities, like Ridgetown or Blenheim, might be okay. Veccia says you should contact your local facility supervisor to find out.
The Lambton Kent District School Board is also restricting the use of its fields until May 1 because of the wet weather. The LKDSB says its facilities department monitors the field conditions throughout the month of April and works closely with grounds maintenance to ensure the facilities are adequately prepared for community use beginning in May.