Standardised playing field size

[newcs]

I've heard that significant changes had to be made to the MCG for the 1956 Olympics in that the playing field had to be made perfectly level.
At Kardinia Park, the outer wing is about two meters lower that the members wing. It looks like they have built the new grandstands with the provision that the ground might have to one day have to be levelled.

 

[Mr_Moogle]

Cricket, Baseball, Aussie rules, Motor Racing, Golf, Rugby are all played on grounds of various shapes and sizes and are one of the key elements to the game. Hell even a FIFA tourny allows for a variety of ground sizes.

I'll give you Golf and Motor Racing. Those other sports don't have varying field sizes as a "key element" in any way.

 

[Garlic muncher]

Can't argue with that idiocy.

Well i have been watching footy for 50 years, perhaps my eyes are going, perhaps it is the way the Swannies play or perhaps the SCG is just a ground where flooding or congesting the opposition forward line just works and seems to work better than most grounds, i figured it was because the ground is shorter and i do realise that during the current round of construction that the SCG was lengthened a couple of metres.

The game on friday night seemed much more congested than the previous couple of weeks.

 

[JUBJUB]

How the hell can you run a fair and even competition if the grounds vary in size all over the country?

How can you run a fair and even comp when some teams play each other once and play other teams twice in a season ?
How can you run a fair and even comp when a team doesn't host another team in a Home game in 8 years ?
How can you run a fair and even comp when Mathew Nicholls is an umpire ?


Ground sizes are the least concerning thing

 

[Mr_Moogle]

How can you run a fair and even comp when some teams play each other once and play other teams twice in a season ?
How can you run a fair and even comp when a team doesn't host another team in a Home game in 8 years ?
How can you run a fair and even comp when Mathew Nicholls is an umpire ?


Ground sizes are the least concerning thing

Oh it's definitely nit-picking in the grand scheme of things. Isn't that what BigFooty is for?

 

[Coaster2012]

Personally I think they should, or in other words, should already be like that. Most other sports have standardized playing areas, and Aussie rules should be the same. But do I want it changed now? No, too much effort.

 

[rdhopkins2]

Clarko when asked if playing at the Gabba for the first time since 2008 replied with something along the lines of, well it's got 4 posts at each end and grass, so it's pretty similar to the rest of them.

 

[sherb]

My eyes tell me otherwise, the wings are wide at the SCG, but the distance post to post seems way shorter.

A whopping 4.5 m shorter and 5 m narrower than the MCG.

 

[boncer34]

Personally I think they should, or in other words, should already be like that. Most other sports have standardized playing areas, and Aussie rules should be the same. But do I want it changed now? No, too much effort.

What sports do?

 

[kneecapper]

Well i have been watching footy for 50 years, perhaps my eyes are going, perhaps it is the way the Swannies play or perhaps the SCG is just a ground where flooding or congesting the opposition forward line just works and seems to work better than most grounds, i figured it was because the ground is shorter and i do realise that during the current round of construction that the SCG was lengthened a couple of metres.

The game on friday night seemed much more congested than the previous couple of weeks.

My only explanation is that the lower camera angle might make the ground appear more congested but you can't argue with facts.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

What sports do?

Tennis, NFL, UEFA approved football pitches (with a very few exceptions due to venue size/history), netball, indoor cricket, basketball, table tennis, handball, athletics, swimming and darts just to name a few.

In fact, pretty much most of them with the exception of AFL, golf, cricket and a few others.

 

[Garlic muncher]

My only explanation is that the lower camera angle might make the ground appear more congested but you can't argue with facts.

Maybe i am living in the past and possibly being overly critical, the next game i watch at the SCG i will attempt to watch without the short ground goggles on.

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/50-metre-arc-at-scg.957849/

 

[TBoyleSuperstar]

I can think of a lot of other problems we have to improve before this needs to be discussed.

Problem is, most of our grounds weren't purpose built like many other grounds around the world have. The majority of our grounds were dual purpose and as such, weren't required to be any specific size.

Personally, I don't mind the nuances of the different grounds.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

I'll give you Golf and Motor Racing. Those other sports don't have varying field sizes as a "key element" in any way.

yes they do the entire point of MLB fields is that they have unique outfields, in fact several baseball diamonds were designed specifically to give the home team an advantage by introducing quirky ground shapes and sizes.

in cricket the size of the ground combined with the pace of the outfield is also designed to give an advantage, footy which comes from cricket inherited the unique shapes of grounds and is part and parcel of traveling.

in rugby league during the johns era, Qld and NZ ground staff deliberately moved in the size of in goal area in, in order to restrict the effectiveness of the high ball game as most teams could not handle how well he placed the ball.

in rugby union the entire point of touring was to take on opponents at their grounds, Which is why every world cup there is a shit fight over which grounds can qualify as ground minimums only exist for the tournament with each nations reps demanding grounds meet some arbitrary sizes. Several IRU games take place on grounds with varying sizes each year, in fact the in goal area maximum size was introduced in union, because someone chased down a missed field goal attempt 50 meters from the try line in order to score a try. Ground size in union drastically effects the game, for a variety of reasons far more then it does your average rules game, due to technicalities of the sport. For example most southern hemisphere teams prefer a long wider ground in order to promote the running game. Because its much easier to isolate a man running without support and at the same time much easier to wear down a large slower opponent and allows you to bring your backs into the game more. Whilst the northern hemisphere teams prefer shorter narrower grounds as it makes field goals easier, whilst at the same time making it harder to kick for territory, because it demands a more disciplined kick, which a fullback has an easier time defending. Additionally a lineout taken at larger grounds is statistically more likely to result in a try as it can produce bigger overlaps on a more consistent basis.

 

[Damon_3388]

I'm all for uniformity of ground sizes, but with how established some grounds are, it wouldn't be a practical measure at this point.

Standardising ground sizes to a flat, level 170m x 150m (without slopes or 'humps') between the boundaries (I've favoured 180m x 130m when I've mentioned this many times before, but I feel making it rounder is more practical, especially for multi-purpose venues), with a 50m x 50m centre square, genuine 50m arcs, and 5m from the boundary line to the fence (total size of 180m x 160m between the fences) would "open up the game" like so many want, and alleviate congestion and give the players more space to operate in.

Obviously it would never happen, as it would require significant renovation of every existing stadium to all have that size of a playing surface (and that's before you even consider doing it at lower levels, where it would probably be quite cost-prohibitive), but it'd be an interesting development at AFL level IMO, just to see how teams adapt and the game changes by being played at consistently bigger grounds than it has in the past.

I'm a little disappointed they didn't do more to make Adelaide Oval a genuine oval shape when they had the opportunity during renovation, especially with the prospect of AFL football being played there. It has gone from 190m x 125m between the fences pre-renovations, to now 183m x 134m. By comparison, the MCG is 174m x 148 m, and the SCG is 155 x 136m.

I'll be interested to see how the field dimensions turn out for the new Perth stadium, if they go with the extra long Subi-style design, or a rounder, more MCG-like setup.

 

[VineyIsLORD]

You would also have to remember this might make suburban footy have to consider following suit. Thats a lot of money to update every ground in the country, and the suburban cricket clubs probably wouldnt go for it.

 

[Bokonon]

ARF just sounds weird though doesn't it?



We also used to line hats with mercury. That was stupid too. Using tradition as an excuse seems like a cop out to me considering the grounds barely resemble what they once we're anyway.

Thats true, and if you can convince me there is a serious health issue with different size grounds I wll accept your analogy!

 

[Coaster2012]

What sports do?

NBA and the NFL

 

[Martyn_30_]

All grounds should be the same size as Etihad, which would make it much harder for those soft outside teams that like the open space on the bigger grounds.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Underdog]

NBA and the NFL

The NBA have different dimensions to the International standard and other leagues throughout the world.

 

[Sando22]

I love that each ground has it's own different characteristics

 

[Beutbrute]

I like the different ground sizes, it adds a unique element to different games.

If we truly wanted to standardize the grounds it's not just size, but soil, grass type, camber, north/south orientation, which all play a part in the home ground advantage, before even looking at prevailing weather conditions/crowds etc.

 

[Underdog]

Tennis, NFL, UEFA approved football pitches (with a very few exceptions due to venue size/history), netball, indoor cricket, basketball, table tennis, handball, athletics, swimming and darts just to name a few.

In fact, pretty much most of them with the exception of AFL, golf, cricket and a few others.

Tennis: Different dimensions depending on event. Different line widths which affect live playing area. Vastly different surfaces http://www.tennis.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Court-and-Enclosure-Dimensions-2012.pdf

NFL/American Football: Vastly different playing surfaces

Association Football: Many different sizes as discussed

Netball:

Indoor Cricket: Irrelevant

Basketball: Different dimensions depending on league I.E. NBA does not play to International standards.

Table Tennis: Irrelevant

Handball: Irrelevant

Athetics: There are many variations available. Look for term like "at least" http://track.isport.com/track-guides/track-field-dimensions

Swimming: Different lengths depending on event "long course / short course" Depths, temperatures, visibility, lane width etc are variable http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow...422fc/Pool Dimensions and Reccomendations.pdf

Darts: Irrelevant


Irrelevant = because they have little relevance to us when discussing professional sports in this manner.

 

[Rickee]

Clubs have precious little home ground advantage left as it is. Keep the grounds varying sizes, in my opinion, it's one of the few traditional elements left to us.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

Tennis: Different dimensions depending on event. Different line widths which affect live playing area. Vastly different surfaces http://www.tennis.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Court-and-Enclosure-Dimensions-2012.pdf

NFL/American Football: Vastly different playing surfaces

Association Football: Many different sizes as discussed

Netball:

Indoor Cricket: Irrelevant

Basketball: Different dimensions depending on league I.E. NBA does not play to International standards.

Table Tennis: Irrelevant

Handball: Irrelevant

Athetics: There are many variations available. Look for term like "at least" http://track.isport.com/track-guides/track-field-dimensions

Swimming: Different lengths depending on event "long course / short course" Depths, temperatures, visibility, lane width etc are variable http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/d88245f7-325a-464b-84c6-7db3891422fc/Pool Dimensions and Reccomendations.pdf

Darts: Irrelevant


Irrelevant = because they have little relevance to us when discussing professional sports in this manner.

The point raised was about ground sizes, not surfaces. Why muddy the waters?

This may surprise you but all tennis courts are the same size. Line widths? Give me a break.

As are the other playing field sizes that I mentioned.

And there are now very few exceptions allowed by UEFA so 98% of all UEFA standard soccer grounds are the same size. ALL UEFA sacntioned tournamnets must use pitches that have the same dimensions (Champions League, Europa League, etc).