Covered pitches in Costa Rica: how not to lose the game to rain
RETO Team2 min read
From May to November the hard part isn't finding players. It's that the sky closes at 4pm and by 6pm nobody knows whether the game is on.
The rain keeps a schedule, and you can use that
On the Pacific side, most of the rainy season runs the same way nearly every day: a clear morning, then a heavy downpour between mid-afternoon and early evening. The Caribbean side follows a different pattern — rain is spread more evenly through the year and the same rule doesn't apply.
The practical consequence: changing the time helps more than changing the venue. A group that plays Tuesdays at 5pm and hasn't finished a game in three weeks usually fixes it by moving to 7pm or to the morning, not by finding another pitch.
"Covered" doesn't mean one thing
When you call to ask, the answer is always yes. It's worth pinning down what kind of roof it actually is:
| What they say | What it usually is | Survives a real downpour |
|---|---|---|
| Covered | Full structure over the whole pitch | Yes |
| Semi-covered | Roof over the middle, open corners | Partly |
| Shade cloth / mesh | Sun protection, not rain protection | No |
| Good drainage | Uncovered, but dries fast | You play after, not during |
A covered pitch with open sides and a crosswind gets just as wet. That isn't a detail — it decides whether the game happens or gets called off.
The surface decides what happens after the rain
| Surface | After a downpour |
|---|---|
| Artificial turf with good drainage | Playable almost immediately |
| Concrete | Slippery — the most dangerous one wet |
| Natural grass | Depends on drainage; can be unusable |
| Clay (tennis) | Out of service until it dries |
If the only option nearby is uncovered concrete, the plan B isn't waiting. It's having a second pitch already identified.
The five questions to ask on the phone
None of these are published anywhere, and all five change the decision:
- Does the roof cover the whole pitch or only the middle?
- Are there lights? This decides whether 7 or 8pm works.
- When it rains hard, has a game been called off there this year?
- If I've booked and it rains, do I lose the deposit or can I reschedule?
- How much notice do you need to reschedule?
The fourth one costs the most money and is the one almost nobody asks.
Pick the backup before you need it
A useful backup isn't "we'll figure something out." It's a second covered pitch in the same area, with the number saved, chosen on a day when it wasn't raining.
When the downpour lands at 4pm there's no time left to research anything — only to send a message.