The World Hockey Youth Tournament scheduled to take place this coming weekend at hockey club Xenios in Amsterdam has been moved to HC Houten in Utrecht.
The relocation is due to a surface water sprinkling ban, which leaves the Amsterdam club unable to sufficiently water its artificial pitches.
Hockey is frequently played on water-based turf fields, which require regular irrigation to remain playable and safe.
International teams affected
The youth tournament features teams travelling from across the world, including Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Malaysia.
Organizer Sander van der Weide said the situation is frustrating after extensive preparations, but noted that organizers had no other choice.
Unlike Amsterdam, watering remains permitted at the replacement facilities in Houten, allowing the matches to proceed there as planned.
Ban remains in place
The regional sprinkling ban took effect on Friday, August 14.
Under the restriction, water cannot be drawn from rivers, canals, ditches, or lakes to irrigate sports grounds, gardens, and pastures.
It is not yet known when the ban will be lifted. A spokesperson for the Amstel, Gooi en Vecht water authority stated that recent rainfall has certainly not been sufficient to ease the restrictions.
