In recent years, extreme weather events have caused major interruptions and had serious health consequences at both elite and grassroots levels of sport.
- English Test Cricket Captain Joe Root was hospitalised with heat exhaustion after an Ashes Test match in Sydney in 2018. The air temperature at the time was 42° and a heat-tracker in the middle of the ground showed a reading of 57.6°.
- A Big Bash League cricket match in Canberra was suspended in 2019 when smoke from the Black Summer bushfires blew over the field.
- More than nine players withdrew from the 2014 Australian Open after four days of 40° plus heat. More than 1,000 spectators and several ball-kids were treated for heat exhaustion.
- In 2022, devastating floods in Lismore, NSW, damaged the local AFL oval making it unsuitable for play.
- In northwest Brisbane, a soccer club’s synthetic playing field was washed away by severe flooding in 2022. A shipping container full of the club’s equipment also floated away on the floodwaters.
- In 2007, three-quarters of metro and rural AFL leagues in Victoria had their playing seasons delayed or shortened due to ground closures caused by drought.
Grassroots sports is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because local clubs and associations have limited resources to help them adapt.
We’ve created a guide to help clubs prepare for climate impacts. If you’re a player, a parent, guardian, or coach, our guide can help you understand climate risks to sport and how we can all make sure summer sport is here to stay and safe to play.
