Lightning - USSF Rules
- Minimum Delay 30 Minutes
- match terminated after 45 minute delay
Example #2 - Lightning is first observed at
2:00 PM, and continues intermittently for several
minutes... the last lightning strike is observed at 2:15.
This match should be terminated upon seeing the lightning
strike at 2:15 (because after you wait 30 minutes after
2:15, the total accumulated stoppage time will be 45
minutes).
Example #3 - Lightning is first observed at 2:00 PM. No
further lightning is observed. You resume play 30 minutes
later (at 2:30). If at ANY time you observe lightning
again, this match should be terminated IMMEDIATELY (because
after you wait another 30 minutes, the total accumulated
stoppage time will exceed 45 minutes).
Lightning - Additional Information
Tournaments - If the suspended match is part of a
tournament (or is followed by several other matches on the
same field), the referee should consult the tournament
director.
Suspend or Terminate? - To "suspend" a
match is to temporarily stop the match, with an expectation
of resuming play at some later time or date (maybe within
the hour... maybe the next day... maybe several days from
now). To "terminate" a match is to consider the match "over
and complete," with no expectation of resuming play at any
later time or date. If the referee stops a match due to the
weather, the league may later decide to resume the match at
a later date. For this reason, the referee who stops a
match due to the weather should always declare the match to
be "suspended" due to the weather, and let the league
decide what happens next.
Who won? - The referee never decides who
won or lost a suspended or terminated match. That decision
rests solely with the league. The referee merely declares
the match "suspended" or "terminated," and reports to the
league administrator the reason for suspension/termination,
the score of the match and the time (when within the course
of the match) it was suspended/terminated.