GCA introduce Air Quality Guidelines

On Thursday, January 16, the GCA released a statement saying recent conditions had made the guidelines a necessity.

“With unprecedented recent weather conditions the GCA is acting to reduce risk to players and officials health and wellbeing and is requesting full support of clubs and officials in a commonsense approach.”

In adherence to Cricket Australia’s guidelines, that play will be suspended if air quality levels measured for PM2.5 (Fine particles bigger than 2.5 micrometres in diameter) reaches 150 play should be suspended.

Air with a PM2.5 ranging from 97-370 is deemed “Very Poor”, with the only stage above this being “Hazardous”.

Clubs will be notified by email and Facebook on match days by 11:30am on occasions where the air quality is poor.

If the air quality reaches or exceeds 150PM2.5, then play will be cancelled for the day across all grades.

If during a game the air quality reaches this limit then play will also stop. The GCA will also post hourly updates of the air quality on days when it is near 150PM2.5.

The air quality readings will come from the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA).

The BPCA have not been able to implement similar guidelines due to the association’s clubs being spread across a much larger area than the GCA.

BPCA president Ian Caldwell says this factor, and the lack of air quality monitoring stations, make it “very difficult to have a uniform rule.”

Instead, the decision to call a game of due to poor air quality will be in the hands of the players and umpires.

Caldwell said they have been advised to “err on the side of caution”.