It got really cold in north Texas on Thursday. Low 20s with a 30 mph wind, windchills in the upper zeros to lower teens. Several tournaments canceled and some that didn't had teams whose AD's refused to allow the teams to play. This brought up an interesting point. At what point is it too cold to play? If you didn't have gloves and extra layers it was dangerous IMO, but most players had those. Would you abandon a match due to excessive cold?
Minnesota has cold weather rules that require play to be suspended if the temp *or windchill* is below 35 degrees. I know this one is not strictly enforced, as my son once played in light snow flurries in mid October some years back. Outdoor soccer here runs from the beginning of May until the middle of October.
Did a December tourney where it was 18 degrees and sustained winds in the mid teens. Wind chill of about -3 degrees. Brutal cold. Three game set for our ref team. I had kickoff and loaded up with windproof undershorts, long merino socks under ref socks, and for top: silk layer, merino wool layer, windproof moto layer, turtleneck and ref shirt. Hat and glove of course. Told the field coordinator I was making no decision on conditions regarding the cold but they were to speak with both coaches. Players (u19 boys) asked if they could wear sweats over their shorts and socks/pads. I said yes with two provisos, a "retro" moment of having them knock hands on pads in a line up and the first kid to fuss about a call earned his team no sweat pants. Jogged by the parents and said I welcomed all the help they could provide, but they had to be shorts like me. A dad said, "I can already tell this will be the best called game I ever watched!" The boys where a group of angels... I manufactured runs that I had no reason to make other than to get warm. Then I had two AR slots, in MY windproof sweatpants. Took me about 30 minutes with heat on high to warm up in the truck afterwords.
My last match of the year as a December, night time, 28 degree with wind, Women's scrimmage for an advanced college coaching license class. I was fine with player gloves and layers under my long yellow. I let my crew wear long pants/hats/gloves. I allowed the women to wear under uppers and lowers if they wanted, a couple had soft hats. Most did what I did given they were basically performing tryouts for 100+ college coaches. Now that DA BU18 upgrade match in 38 degrees and pouring rain a few years ago..... closest I've ever come not making it. I think the record for me is an 8am kick with 24 degrees and crunchy grass. It all depends on the day, the players, and particulars of the weather there.
You haven't lived until the parents shovel the field before you start. The snow changes to sleet which actually makes a peak on your badge, you do 2 games in the driving sleet with wind whipping, it's DA so you follow the rules, and the 45 minute ride home with the heat cranked and you still shiver in the shower. To cold. While snow usually solves that for us we have had some pretty horrible days in NH
For me, keeping the hands warm are the biggest issue when it gets brutally cold. I have worn black thermal long johns or black warm up pants when it hits freezing and in particular when it's windy. I have refereed in light snow and it generally is not an issue unless the snow obscures the field markings. If temperatures were down to near zero I would be inclined for youth to not play the match. Never had those conditions though. Lowest temps have been in the low twenties.
Did a tournament in November that never got above 25 with matching wind with gusts to 35. I wore 4 shirts two hats two pairs of pants, three pairs of socks, and had hand warmers. Did 6 matches. The yute did not want to be there. The games were horrible. I on the other hand was fine. I did referee though with someone who had only SS shirts. He was a tad cold.
It was 25F on Saturday with a stiff 25mph wind. And then it started snowing. And I was assessing. Six very chilly games. Referees were all wearing multiple layers, hats, gloves, black over trousers. Sunday was still bitterly cold, but little wind and clear, so the sun made a huge difference.
Assessing is MUCH WORSE in the cold. Sure you can pile on all the clothes in the world, but you still have to write! Plus you can't move, plus you're usually doing multiple games (unless it's an upgrade)
This is the cold weather rule for youth play (MYSA); and yes it is not strictly enforced. For HS and college, safety is the criteria. Have done games nearly every year in below freezing weather with snow, sleet, high winds, etc. Layers under the uniform is the key.
I wasn't the ref, but I coached a HS game once where it snowed during the JV game, then the clouds vanished... along with any remaining warmth. 27F at kickoff. Then another where it was snowing--wet, sloppy stuff--the entire ride to the game, but nobody had called us about canceling. We arrived, the other team was there, as were the refs, as was about an inch of slush on the field. Since everyone was there, we said, "Let's play!" Last year, I coached two games (one late fall season, one early spring) where it was snowing heavily enough that the lines became close to invisible. Not quite as bad as the SnowClasico USA vs CRC, but close. So I know of at least 12 refs who have worked games in wet, sub-freezing temps. We were all cold, but as far as I know no participants ended up with frostbite or anything.
Other than the initial flippant response, unless I missed it no one has really answered this question. I think, practically, I never would abandon a match due to excessive cold. Temperature--for the most part--isn't something like lightning or heavy snow or some other weather that could develop, perhaps quite rapidly, within the time frame of a game, thereby prompting an abandonment. If you're good starting a game at 6pm in 25 degrees, is it really abandonment-level at 7pm if it dips to 19 or so? The same, I think, could be said of excessive heat. If you kickoff at 99 and it rises to 104 in the second half, you're not suddenly abandoning the game because of that change. But I think it's foolish (jokes about Qatar 2022 notwithstanding) to argue there aren't extreme temperatures that are inherently unsafe to play in. They are probably going to vary based on your geographic location. It's not mentioned in this thread, but I think a few months ago people mentioned that the major Thanksgiving tournament in the DC area had morning kickoff temperatures of 9 degrees. We dealt with it by layering up to the point we wore our warmups, hats and gloves--and things rose to a balmy 20 degrees later in the day. In some other areas of the country, people probably wouldn't be okay with 9 degree kickoffs. I think in most cases, extreme cold (or heat) in the forecast should prompt a decision by the competition authorities, whether it's a league-wide or tournament-wide decision. And this isn't just a youth level thing. If I recall correctly, the Russian and Ukrainian leagues have postponed weekends solely due to cold (without accompanying snow that would affect field conditions). Might there be the rare case where you show up at a field and refuse to start because of cold? Maybe. But I think it'd have to be extraordinarily rare. I can't imagine a situation where two teams show up, players and coaches are ready and willing to play, but a referee decides (rightly) that the cold is too unsafe to play.
My response may have been brief, but it was not flippant. It was a yes or no question to which I replied.
I would tend to say that it depends on where you live. I would tend to think that kids in Dallas don't have the proper gear to stay warm at the game in the 20s. As a ref, I agree that we shouldn't cancel if the teams want to play. I had a game where between leaving work and game time, the temperature went from 50 to 35 plus wind. We all happened to have black jackets and that's what we wore. I get much more lenient about dress the colder it gets.
Here in Central GA, sometimes I think people don't understand what cold is. It will be 35-40 degress in the morning. I will have on three layers and gloves so I can shed them as it slowly warms up to the mid 60s. Kids will show up with a t-shirt and jersey and wonder why they're getting hypothermic standing on the line. I try to tell them, it's better to wear too much and be able to take it off if you wish, then to freeze your a** and have no option.