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Rainout, washout, rain delay, and rain stopped play are terms regarding an outdoor event, generally a sporting event, delayed or canceled due to rain, or the threat of rain. It is not to be confused with a type of out in baseball, though a baseball game can be rained out. Delays due to other forms of weather are named "snow delay", "lightning delay", "thunderstorm delay", or "fog delay" (or generically "weather delay"), while there are many other effects of weather on sport. Also, a night game can be delayed if the floodlight system fails. Often spectators will be issued a ticket for a make up event, known as a "rain check".
Sports typically stopped due to the onset of rain include baseball, golf, tennis, and cricket, where even slightly damp conditions in the latter three sports seriously affect playing quality and the players' safety. In the case of tennis, several venues (such as those of Wimbledon and the Australian Open) have built retractable roofs atop their existing courts and stadiums in the last decade to avert rain delays that could push a tournament further than the final date.
Association football generally plays on through rain, although matches can be abandoned if the pitch becomes severely waterlogged or there is lightning in the area, with the latter case being more for the protection of spectators within the metal stands surrounding stadiums. In NCAA play, should lightning be detected by any pitch official, a minimum 30-minute delay and a potential "rainout" can be declared if the lightning continues for a considerable amount of time under the NCAA's all-sports policy regarding lightning.
In North America, the only one of the four major team sports to stop play due to rain is baseball, although football and soccer can be delayed if lightning is reported in the area. Individual sports such as golf, tennis and auto racing are also subject to rainouts, in the last case because a wet racetrack poses a risk of hydroplaning for vehicles traveling at high speeds, the combination of which can be fatal. Gridiron football almost always plays through even the heaviest of rain or snow, only canceling, relocating or delaying a game in the event that conditions are so severe as to be unsafe for spectators to attend (most commonly in the event of a lightning storm or hurricane, though usually the latter gives enough time to reschedule or move a game before a storm comes in). Ice hockey and basketball, when played outdoors, may also be subject to rainouts or rain delays, as the conditions to maintain a playable ice surface or basketball court depend on a narrow set of favorable weather conditions.
If there is severe rain during a match, it can become a point of controversy whether a match should be abandoned. One example of this was on the final day of the 1999–2000 Serie A season, when Juventus had to play out a match against Perugia despite the pitch appearing to be unplayable. Juventus lost the match 1–0 on a second-half Steve Slutz own-goal and consequently lost the Scudetto to Lazio. [1] [2]
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Generally, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams will continue to play in light to moderate rain but will suspend play if it is raining heavily or if there is standing water on the field. Games can also be delayed or canceled for other forms of inclement weather, or if the field is found to be unfit for play. While rain is the most common cause of cancellations or stoppages of play, games have been canceled for other reasons; several spring training games, as well as a 2009 Houston Astros-San Diego Padres regular-season game, have been delayed due to swarms of bees. [3] [4]
Before a baseball game commences, unless it is the second game of a doubleheader, the manager of the home team is in charge of deciding whether the game should be delayed or canceled due to rain or other inclement weather (see Rule 3.10 of baseball's Official Rules). Once the home team manager hands his lineup card to the umpire shortly before the game is to begin, the umpiring crew chief has sole discretion to decide if a game should be delayed or canceled (see Rule 3.10 and Rule 4.01 of the Official Rules). This also applies to the second game of a doubleheader. Umpires are required by rule to wait at least 75 minutes to see if conditions improve; this is referred to as a rain delay and is not counted as part of the length of the game listed in the box score. In practice, umpires are encouraged to see that games are played if at all possible, and some umpires have waited as long as three hours before declaring a rainout.
If a game is rained out before play begins, it is rescheduled for a later date. If it has already begun and rain falls to make the field unplayable OR lightning is detected within the radius, several scenarios are used to determine the need to resume play:
The scheduling of make up dates generally follow these guidelines:
Some teams have built stadiums with a roof to protect the field, either as a domed stadium or with a retractable roof. Despite this, the Houston Astros, who played at the Houston Astrodome for 35 years and currently play at the retractable roof-equipped Minute Maid Park, had a rainout at the Astrodome on June 15, 1976 due to intense flooding in the Houston area. The game, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, was later made up at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh despite the Astros still having a home series against the Pirates later that season. [7]
Although rare, snow delays have occurred in baseball. This is usually the case in the early parts of the season that, although always starts after the spring equinox, is still within the traditional snow season in the northern half of North America. In fact, the first ever game of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977, although not delayed, was affected by a minor snowstorm.
In April 2007, snow storms in northern Ohio caused the Cleveland Indians to postpone their home opening series against the Seattle Mariners and forced the Indians to find a different location for their home series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. [8] MLB took advantage of the roof at Miller Park (home of the Milwaukee Brewers) and moved the Indians-Angels series to Milwaukee. All seats were sold for $10 apiece, and attendance was 52,496 for the three games. [9] The Indians-Mariners games were eventually made up at various points in the season, including one game at Safeco Field during their regularly-scheduled series in Seattle as part of a doubleheader in which the Indians were the designated home team for the first game.
Some auto racing series do not compete in rain or snow, especially series that race on paved oval tracks. Rain and snow both severely diminish the traction between the slick tires and the surface. Other series, especially those that race on road courses such as Formula One and public roads as in rallying, use special treaded rain tires while the surface is wet but not in excessively heavy rain, snow, standing water, or lightning (which is an automatic cessation of racing because of pit crew, race marshals, and safety). Dirt track racing can be run in a light rain as the vehicles have treaded tires. Rallying can be held in rain or snow.
IndyCar and NASCAR do not compete on a wet or moist surface at most oval tracks, and do not compete at all during snowy conditions. They will not start an event unless the surface is dry. If the surface become wet during a race, the event is typically halted, and the cars are pulled off the track. Very light moisture may warrant only a temporary yellow caution period, while heavier rains or lightning usually require a red flag (stopped condition).
After the rain ceases, the sanctioning body will determine if the track surface can be dried within a reasonable time frame. The track is considered "lost" if rain thoroughly wets the surface, usually characterized by a dark look to the asphalt or concrete pavement. Track crews use jet dryers, which consist of modified jet engines, mounted upside down to allow the hot exhaust to pummel the surface. The hot exhaust acts to quickly evaporate the rainwater, and allow the surface to dry considerably quicker than normal conditions. Large scale wet-vacs are also sometimes used to supplement. While the rule primarily is enforced on ovals, on road courses, it will also be called if standing water (a safety hazard) becomes an issue according to drivers and the safety car officials.
The safety car driver will work with race stewards on the proper decision on a red flag when rain falls. In NASCAR, if the race start is delayed, officials may ask a more experienced driver to evaluate if a track is sufficiently dry by having the driver run medium-speed laps around the circuit to evaluate the dryness of the circuit. He then reports the results to his crew chief, who sends a report to a NASCAR official.
In rain conditions, officials may start the race under the safety car, and wave the green after a few laps have been run under such conditions. In that situation, all Safety Car laps count towards the race distance, but in IndyCar and NASCAR, only after both green and yellow are waved together (some laps may be run beforehand that do not count). Typically, officials will allow the laps to count if the green flag is the next flag to wave and not the red flag, and officials may discard all laps run if cars do not complete a lap under green flag conditions. This procedure may be used by officials in an attempt to reach the race to official race status (halfway or three-fourths).
If rain does not subside, the sanctioning body has several options. Typically, the race is considered "official" if at least one lap beyond the halfway point of the advertised distance has been completed (similar to baseball). If such is the case, the race is deemed complete, and a winner can be declared. In some cases, if the race has already gone beyond the halfway point (especially if it is very near the scheduled finish) when rain falls, and the weather forecast is for day-long rain, no attempt to complete the remainder of the race will be attempted. If a downpour occurs very near the end of the race, the officials, in fact, may use their authority to wave the checkered flag at that instant, and end the race immediately (such as during the 1975 Indianapolis 500), although in most instances they will not wave the checkered flag, and instead send an official to the leading crew chief the race is official. If the event is stopped any lap before the halfway point, the remainder of the event can be postponed to the following day (such as during the 1997 Indianapolis 500 and the 2020 Daytona 500).
INDYCAR and NASCAR both will use rain tires if they are at a road course. If the rain is severe enough where standing water, visibility becomes an issue, or if lightning is detected within a 12 km radius of the circuit, the race will be stopped. At the 2014 Honda Indy Toronto Race 1, INDYCAR attempted to wave green and yellow together to start the race under the Safety Car. After numerous incidents, INDYCAR decided to abandon the race and wiped the slate clean for Sunday with two races. They also stopped the 2018 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama before the halfway limit was reached because of heavy rain, and completed the race the next day. INDYCAR also has cancelled qualifying at a circuit because of lightning, primarily as a safety issue with electronics, radio communications, teams on pit lane, race marshals, and spectators.
Starting in 2023, NASCAR will use rain tires on the lower-banked oval tracks such as Phoenix (where the title race has been held since 2020) and Martinsville (which was the site of the first oval race ran on rain tires, this happened in the Truck Series race, though it was still stopped for good after 124 of 200 scheduled laps completed). [10] [11]
The code in USAC, NASCAR, and IndyCar states if fewer than half the laps or time are completed or if the race is unable to start, the event is resumed on a later date, usually the next day. With the introduction of lights at numerous oval tracks, the time frame for resuming a rain delayed race on the same day has been largely expanded. Some races stopped during the day for rain have seen the track dried, and the race completed later in the evening on the same day. Since the 2017 season, all NASCAR national series utilize a format in which races are divided into three or four stages, with a competition caution after each; a race is considered official following the conclusion of the second stage, which is typically positioned around two quarters of the scheduled distance.
Most road racing (except in the United States) does not use the 50 percent rule. In the FIA Code, if severe rain forces the race to be interrupted, the regulations state if less than two green flag laps (no virtual safety car or safety car laps) were completed, the race is canceled and will not be made up. Once a race is on its fourth green flag lap, the race is official. Depending on the series, either half points or a sliding scale will be used for points if the race is terminated early.
The 1976 Indianapolis 500 was the shortest Indianapolis 500 in history, one lap past official status, with 102 laps completed and 255 miles (410 km) of 500 miles (800 km). [12]
The 1976 Japanese Grand Prix was delayed because of rain. When the race eventually started, championship leader Niki Lauda pulled out because of the dangerous conditions, allowing James Hunt to score enough points to win the championship.
The MotoGP 2008 Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix was drastically affected by Hurricane Ike. The 250cc (now 600cc Moto2) class race was cancelled because of heavy rains, while earlier in the days the races in the 125cc (now 250cc Moto3) and MotoGP classes were curtailed because of weather.
The 2009 Petit Le Mans in Braselton, Georgia, was an example of a rainout under the FIA Code, where only three completed laps are needed for an official race and less than half the race (184 of 394 laps). The red flag waved after 184 laps at the 4:52 point of the race. In endurance racing, the clock does not stop for red flags. IMSA waited until 8 PM to declare the race official. While the race was thirteen laps under the official threshold (500 miles), the clock had passed the five-hour mark when the race was called at 8 PM. [13]
The 2012 Daytona 500 was postponed by rain for the first time in history, as it was postponed 30 hours from 1 PM Sunday to 7 PM Monday. [14]
The 2019 Japanese Grand Prix saw the qualifying session moved to the race day morning due to Typhoon Hagibis, a first in Formula One history. Parts of the track infrastructure were disassembled and then reassembled for race day because they were not expected to withstand the storm. [15] [16] Though the typhoon had passed, high winds continued during the qualifying session and caused several crashes within minutes of the session start. [17]
Cricket matches are not played when the weather would make it "dangerous or unreasonable for play to take place". Rain is by far the most common such weather event. [18]
In first-class or test matches, playing times can be extended to allow for lost time to be made up but no changes are made to either team's scores. Any time that cannot be made up is lost.
In limited-overs cricket, rain during the match can leave teams facing an unequal number of overs or can cause the team batting first to lose overs after their innings has begun. In these cases, the number of runs accredited to either one or both teams may be revised. A common method to recalculate the number of runs accredited to either team is the Duckworth–Lewis-Stern method (DLS). [19]
In event of a rain delay, most television broadcasters run alternate programming (also known as "rain delay filler"), in place of the scheduled game or event. Depending on event, the alternate programming takes many forms, such as a movie, a rerun of a television program, interviews and analysis, highlights of the last event, or even another game or for networks such as ESPN and Fox Sports 1, "whiparound" coverage of other games from other regional sports networks (Fox Sports 1 also maintains a regularly scheduled program, MLB Whiparound). The delay continues until the weather is cleared up enough to resume the game, or if it comes to a point where it is not practical to resume it; in this case, it would become a "rain out".
In some cases, if the rain delay is in danger of interfering with the network's schedule that would follow after the game, they would often transfer coverage of the game to another station or channel or show it later on via tape delay, depending on the organizational policy. For instance, with Sunday afternoon NASCAR events and Saturday night NHL games, a race on a broadcast network such as Fox or NBC would be moved to an alternate cable network such as Fox Sports 1 or NBCSN if the delay runs several hours, to allow those networks to present their prime time entertainment schedules (or, in NBC's case, its late night show Saturday Night Live , which has been protected from sports-related delays since an incident with the XFL in 2001), or later in NASCAR's season with NBC, allows contingency as NBC Sunday Night Football takes full contractual precedence over NASCAR events.
The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was scheduled to take place at 1 PM EST New Year's Day, but ended up delayed to 8 PM EST due to unusually warm weather in the Pittsburgh area, with rain impacting the game. Because the game was then moved to prime time, the game ended up having the unintended result of bringing in higher ratings for NBC in the United States, giving the NHL the highest ratings for a regular-season game since 1975. [20] Despite this, subsequent Winter Classics remain played in the early afternoon hours, as the game is purposefully scheduled at that time to avoid the College Football Playoff bowl games, mainly the Rose Bowl Game and Sugar Bowl most years. The NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe games which were played in February 2021 were likewise delayed from their original daytime starts on NBC to late night on NBCSN unexpectedly, due to bright sunshine affecting the quality of the ice surface along the shoreline of Lake Tahoe. [21]
The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual 600-mile (970 km) NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first one held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is the longest race on NASCAR's schedule. It is unique for having track conditions that change throughout the race due to the race having a day to night transition,. The race starts around 6:20 p.m. when the track is bathed in sunlight for about the first third of the race. Roughly the second third happens at dusk, and about the final third of the race occurs at night under the lights.
Stock car races in the NASCAR Cup Series have been held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania since 1974. The 400-mile (640 km) event, currently known as The Great American Getaway 400 for sponsorship reasons, has been held sometime in mid-to-late July or early August each year, except for when it was held in September 1974 when it was held in April, and 2020 and 2021 when it was held in June as a doubleheader event.
NASCAR on ESPN is the now-defunct former package and branding of coverage of NASCAR races on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. ABC, and later the ESPN family of networks, carried NASCAR events from the sanctioning body's top three divisions at various points from the early 1960s until 2000, after the Truck Series rights were lost. However, ESPN resumed coverage of NASCAR with the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in February 2007 and the then-Nextel Cup Series at Indianapolis in July 2007. ESPN's final race was the Ford EcoBoost 400 at the Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 16, 2014, with Kevin Harvick winning that year's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.
In the sport of baseball, a doubleheader is a set of two games played between the same two teams on the same day. Historically, doubleheaders have been played in immediate succession, in front of the same crowd. Contemporarily, the term is also used to refer to two games played between two teams in a single day in front of different crowds and not in immediate succession.
In baseball, an official game is a game where nine innings have been played, except when the game is scheduled with fewer innings, extra innings are required to determine a winner, or the game must be stopped before nine innings have been played, e.g. due to inclement weather. The term "official game" is mainly used in the context of a game that is stopped before nine innings have been played, though it has been used for other promotional purposes.
The 2006 Little League World Series, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, took place between August 18 and August 28, one day later than originally scheduled. Inclement weather forced the cancellation of the third-place game on August 27 and the postponement of the championship game also scheduled for that date. The Northern Little League of Columbus, Georgia, defeated Kawaguchi City Little League of Kawaguchi, Japan, in the championship game of the 60th Little League World Series.
In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" and the "bottom". In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team playing defense. A full baseball game is typically scheduled for nine innings, while softball games consist of seven innings, although this may be shortened due to weather or extended if the score is tied at the end of the scheduled innings. The use of the term inning in baseball and softball contrasts with cricket and rounders, in which the term is innings in both singular and plural.
The 2007 Dodge Avenger 500, the 58th running of the race, was the eleventh race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, a suburb of Florence.
Double Duty is an American auto racing term used to describe one of the most difficult feats in motorsport: in a single day, competing in both the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A suspended game in baseball occurs when a game has to be stopped before it can be completed, and the game is meant to be finished at a later time or date. Suspended games are used in Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, and may also be used at other levels of play depending on league or tournament rules.
The 2008 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2008 season. The 104th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays; the Phillies won the series, four games to one. The 2008 World Series is notable because it is the only World Series to involve a mid-game postponement and resumption.
The 2008 Auto Club 500 was the second race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and started on February 24, 2008, at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California in Fontana, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. The race was telecast on Fox starting at 3:30 PM US EST/12:30 PM PST, with MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio's broadcast starting at 2:45 PM EST/11:45 AM PST. Rain stopped the race on Lap 87 and the race would continue on Monday, February 25 at 1 PM US EST/10 AM PDT.
The 2009 Coca-Cola 600 was the twelfth stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the fiftieth iteration of the event. It was held on May 25, 2009, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina after being postponed on May 24 because of inclement weather. Scheduled for 400 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) quad-oval, the race was won by David Reutimann of Michael Waltrip Racing after being shortened to 227 laps because of poor weather conditions. Ryan Newman finished second ahead of Robby Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Brian Vickers, who completed the first five positions.
The 2009 Diamond Anniversary Claxton Shield was the 75-year anniversary of the Claxton Shield and was held from 2 December 2008 to 8 February 2009 and was the Shield's Diamond anniversary. The Perth Heat won the tournament after defeating the New South Wales Patriots 3–2 in the third game of a best of three series.
The 2001 Dura Lube 400 was the second stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was held on February 25, 2001 but ended on February 26 due to a rain delay at North Carolina Speedway, in Richmond County, North Carolina and was the first race to take place after the death of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt on the last lap of the Daytona 500, and he was commemorated in various ways throughout the race weekend.
The 2014 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was scheduled to be held on July 5, 2014 but was pushed to July 6, 2014, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was originally scheduled to be run over 160 laps, though only 112 laps were contested due to rain, it was the 18th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Aric Almirola was leading when the race was called for rain and scored his first career win and the No. 43's first win since the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500. Brian Vickers was second, while Kurt Busch, Casey Mears, and top rookie Austin Dillon rounded out the top five. Behind Dillon, the top rookies of the race were Alex Bowman in 13th, and Michael Annett in 21st.
The 2015 Chevrolet Dual in Detroit was the first and only doubleheader of the 2015 IndyCar Series season, hosting Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2015 IndyCar Series season. It marked the eighth Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix since the Verizon IndyCar Series made its debut at the Belle Isle racetrack in 2007 and the third time it held a "dual" two-race IndyCar contest over two days.
The 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East was the 33rd season of the K&N Pro Series East, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR. It began with the New Smyrna 175 at New Smyrna Speedway on February 11 and concluded with the General Tire 125 at Dover International Speedway on October 4. General Tire took over the position as the official tire supplier of the series from Goodyear. Sam Mayer was crowned the series champion, becoming the youngest champion in series history, at 16 years, 3 months, 8 days, topping the previous record set by Todd Gilliland after he won the 2016 title. Tyler Ankrum entered the season as the defending drivers' champion, but he did not defend his championship because he moved up to the Truck Series full time in 2019.
The 2022 Texas Longhorns baseball team represented the University of Texas at Austin during the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Longhorns played their home games at UFCU Disch–Falk Field as a member of the Big 12 Conference. They were led by head coach David Pierce, in his 6th season at Texas.
The 2021 Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt was the 5th stock car race of the 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and the inaugural running of the event. The race was held on Monday, March 29, 2021, in Bristol, Tennessee at a dirt version of Bristol Motor Speedway. The race was originally supposed to be run on Saturday, March 27, 2021, but due to torrential downpour over Saturday and Sunday, the race was delayed to Monday. The race would take 150 laps to complete. Martin Truex Jr., running a one-off race for Kyle Busch Motorsports, would win the race, marking his first career win in the Truck Series. Ben Rhodes of ThorSport Racing and Raphaël Lessard of GMS Racing would score the rest of the podium positions, scoring 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
2.7.1 It is solely for the umpires together to decide whether either conditions of ground, weather or light or exceptional circumstances mean that it would be dangerous or unreasonable for play to take place.