The Town of Lincoln has 6 athletic fields (Brooks 11v11, Brooks 6v6, Smith 6v6, Codman and Town Hall) and 3 diamonds (Smith Tee Ball, Smith Softball and Codman Baseball.) The town does not own the sport specific equipment on the field, such as goals, bases, flags, etc.

The fields are scheduled and maintained by the Parks and Recreation Dept (PRD). The PRD allocates blocks of times to each sport program, who have discretion to use their allocation as needed within the listed policies and procedures.

MAINTENANCE:
Annual field maintenance includes slice seeding and fertilization in the spring and aeration, slice seeding, fertilization and a lime application in the fall. Unfortunately, irrigation is not provided on any field.

Field use fees are collected from each organization to help with these costs, with the exception of youth baseball. In place of fees, they cover of the cost of their own diamond maintenance, which is a better arrangement for both the program and the town.

Sport specific maintenance such as field lining, equipment purchase and repair are handling by each program.

SEASONAL FIELD CLOSURES:
The athletic fields are seasonally closed in the late winter/early spring, when the fields are soft and wet and will be damaged if they are used. All organized sports must stay off the fields during this time period. A spring opening date will be announced each year. The fields are open for the rest of the year, although organized sports end once the ground freezes in the late fall.

All sports equipment should be brought out at the beginning of each Spring/Fall season, and efficiently stored field-side at the end of each Spring/Fall season to eliminate misuse or damage. Equipment should not be left out through the summer or winter.

WEATHER CLOSURES:
The PRD makes decisions to open or close a field based on weather and all youth sports leagues must comply with that decision. The field will be closed for a specified time frame and will be considered open outside of that time frame.

The PRD will alert all user groups by email in the event of a field closure. Field closures will also be posted on our website at www.lincolnrec.com. If you would like to be added directly to the field closure email, please contact me at dpereira@lincnet.org. Decisions on Saturday mornings are made by 6:30AM if possible. Please be vigilant about checking email in anticipation of inclement weather.

All users (participants and bystanders) shall leave the athletic field and seek shelter at the first indication of thunder or lightening and remain off the athletic field until 30 minutes past the last indication of thunder or lightening.

DAYLIGHT CLOSURE:
Due to poor visibility, all fields are closed 15 minutes after sunset. All organized activities should cease.

If the PRD does not close a field, the sports programs may still choose to suspend or cancel their event at their discretion and are encouraged to do so if they have safety concerns. You never HAVE to play.

EQUIPMENT SAFETY:
Permanent sports equipment (soccer & lacrosse goals, rolling baseball backstops) should be anchored properly to ensure they do not topple over. Movable sports equipment (t-ball t’s, corner flags, etc.) should be brought in at the end of each use, to reduce the danger they poise to unsupervised children.

Equipment should only be moved by adults. Children should never move equipment without direct adult aid and supervision.

Please do not allow anyone to climb on athletic equipment such as goals, backstops, benches or bike racks.

All youth coaches should ensure that their practice and game fields are left in good, safe condition: equipment properly anchored and/or stored; rubbish has been cleaned and disposed of properly.

All equipment should be brought in and secured promptly at the end of each season.

RUBBISH:
The Town of Lincoln provides trash barrels at each athletic field location. These barrels are serviced weekly. Barrels are not always field side, but are more often located adjacent to the parking lot.

Coaches, players and parents are expected to carry their rubbish off the field and dispose of it in the barrel on their way to the parking lot.

Large scale events (in town soccer and t-ball, etc.) should bring their trash to the nearest dumpster, to avoid overflowing barrels.

PUBLIC RESTROOMS:
A public restroom is available 24 hrs/day, 7 days/week adjacent to the tennis courts on Ballfield Road. There is also a restroom located at the back of the Smith School Gymnasium, near the Smith field and diamonds, after school hours on weeknights and weekends.

Thank you for taking the time to become familiar with the fields, and feel to contact me directly with any questions. Best of luck with your season!

Daniel Pereira
Parks and Recreation Director