Why water prior to games?
Most athetic fields, particularly those built on native soils, play best when they are on the dry side. Not so dry as to create hard and unsafe playing conditions, but dry enough that the soil surface does not lose integrity and become a mud-bath. As a rule of thumb, the irrigation is turned off 48 hours prior to a game, to ensure the surface is dry enough. On sandy soils, irrigation is often used before a game to increase the shear strength of the sand. Basically, moist sand is firmer for the athlete’s footing than dry sand. Another reason sand fields are watered prior to soccer games is to create moist leaf tissue that helps the soccer ball to glide smoothly over the surface. A dry turf surface can hold the ball and is considered “slower” than a moist surface. How much water prior to games? In the Premiership Football League in England, many of the sand-based fields/pitches are watered just prior to games, but how much water is applied and is it regulated by the sport’s governing bod
