Grass pitch booking terms and conditions

This charge applies to teams wishing to use a pitch for an entire season. This is charged on an invoice raised after the application has been approved.

This can be paid as one lump sum, or an instalment plan can be arranged with Fife Council Income Recovery (telephone number is 03451 55 11 55). Different charges apply depending on facilities available e.g. pavilions.

Invoicing for block booking is carried out once allocation of Pitch is confirmed.

This charge applies to teams wishing to use a pitch on an ad-hoc basis. The charge is dependent on which facilities are required e.g. changing.

Invoicing takes place at time of booking.

Teams must not use the playing surface for training – the grass areas alongside the pitch should be used. Teams are not charged for training.

Teams are charged based on their age group. There are two age groups: Youth (aged 18 and under) and Adult (aged 19 and over).

If a team fails to meet payments for charges, a reminder will be issued to the treasurer asking for immediate payment. If non-payment continues, the team will no longer be allowed use of any Fife Council facility. This also applies to those teams who choose to pay their account by instalments.

The Current Price List can be viewed here.

Should there be a change in Club Officials, the Booking Team must be notified with immediate effect of the new contact details, by email to FifePitchHire@fife.gov.uk.

Should a team be forced to fold, they must notify the Booking Team by email to FifePitchHire@fife.gov.uk immediately. Pitch Fees will then be refunded. This amount will be based on the number of months the block booking has been in place for.

New Season – Football/Rugby Starts Mid/Late August (exact dates to be confirmed by Fife Council) for Rugby, 11-a-side and Development Leagues. 7-a-side leagues start in March, 9-a-side leagues in August and Shinty leagues starts in March.

Rough guide:

• 7-a-side Leagues – March to November
• 9-a-side Leagues – August to June
• Development League – August to June
• 11-a-side (Men/Boys) - August to May
• 11-a-side (Ladies/Girls) – March to November

This varies depending on the league (see above). Dates given are final as pitches need to be rested and renovated during the summer. Certain pitches will be available for fixtures during the summer shutdown, please contact FifePitchHire@fife.gov.uk for details.

All fixtures for the forthcoming Saturday to Friday must be confirmed before the preceding Tuesday, at 5pm.

For example, if you wish to book a pitch on Saturday 29th of May and Friday 4th of June, this needs to be booked prior to 5pm on Tuesday 25th May.

This can either be done by confirming your bookings on a weekly basis before Tuesday at 5pm, or by confirming in advance by emailing your fixture lists to FifePitchHire@fife.gov.uk. Any changes to fixtures must also be confirmed by Tuesday at 5pm.

If no fixtures are received by the cut-off time, the allocated pitch will not be marked or checked.

Fife Council retains the right to cancel booked matches without any notice, where unforeseen situations occur. This includes bad weather and damage to the pitch.

In situations where weather may affect fixtures, facilities will be inspected on Fridays where there are weekend fixtures and on Monday to Friday for midweek fixtures as required. Teams will be notified by email of any known closures.

Teams will advise Communities & Neighbourhoods by emailing FifePitchHire@fife.gov.uk, who will update the booking system and inform Grounds Maintenance as soon as possible.

All inspection decisions are final.

• No team has exclusive rights to any pitch.
• Please note that any event being held in the park takes priority over games.
• Teams must provide their own nets, pegs and flags and ensure they are removed after each game.

Teams will take full responsibility for the pavilion whilst in use including the visiting side and officials:

• Make sure that the building is locked and secure after use.
• Make sure that heating and water are always used appropriately.
• Supply toilet tissue, soap and cleaning products for use by team and visitors.
• Notify Fife Council by emailing GM.enquiries@fife.gov.uk of any defect, vandalism, repairs etc. as the need arises.
• Frost stats must always remain switched on.

Teams may not (over and above normal Rules & Regulations):

• Book the facility out to other teams or charge for the use of the facilities.
• Leave the heating on for long spells when the facility is not in use (exception - frost stats)
• Permit the toilets or showers to be used for any purpose than specifically designed for e.g. cleaning boots, strips etc.
• Connect electrical appliances, power cables or any other equipment to the power supply.

All Youth teams must be fully signed up to the code of practice before they're permitted to play on Fife Council facilities. Adult Teams should be aware of the implications of the Code of Practice.

A copy of the document is available here.

Clubs have a responsibility to comply with Scottish Government and Sports Scotland regulations. The Scottish SFA has advised each team/club must have a named person responsible for COVID-19 risk assessments.

It may be necessary for Fife Council to share lead booking/contact information with NHS Scotland and statutory partners as part of the Test and Protect Programme.

Further information can be found here.

Clubs will be held liable for any damage caused to Council property e.g. pavilion, pitches, goalposts. This also applies to situations where the council must clean the interior of a pavilion due to excessive mess.

Teams are responsible for all collection of litter and debris associated with the football match, outside and inside the pavilion. No litter should be left in or around the pitch. All litter must be disposed of responsibly.

Teams are responsible for ensuring that pavilions are clean for the next team using the facility and that electricity use is kept to a minimum. Teams must ensure that all unnecessary electrical equipment is switched off. Frost thermostats must not be switched off.

(Central Area Only) – Recreation attendants will not allow individuals (Substitutes etc) access to changing room areas during matches unless accompanied by a Club Committee Member. Youth football teams – as per condition 5 of the Code of Practice.

Under no circumstances must teams duplicate keys or pass keys on to other teams without authorisation from the area booking office. If this is attempted, it will result in all teams being refused access to the facilities in the future.

Fife Council accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to personal belonging left unattended in their facilities.

All persons associated with football teams (including spectators) must conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to team play and sportsmanship. The use of swearing, verbal aggression, rude and inappropriate language is prohibited by the players, committees and spectators. Most of our pitches are in public parks, consideration should be shown towards other park users.

No alcohol is permitted on the facilities (including the pitch and the surrounding area). In addition, there must be no eating, drinking or smoking in any changing facility.

At all facilities users will be expected to arrange erection of temporary goalposts (where applicable), football nets and flags. All net clips must be removed from the goal mouths and grass after use, to prevent damage to our grass cutting machines.

Stretchers etc are the responsibility of the Clubs and Teams. Assistance may be obtained to purchase first aid materials, sports equipment etc through the Fife Council Community Grant Scheme.

Further details can be found here.

Feedback or enquiries in relation to the pavilion/pitch and fees/charges should be directed to GM.enquiries@fife.gov.uk in the first instance.

Feedback or enquiries in relation to the pitch booking and allocation process should be sent to FifePitchHire@fife.gov.uk in the first instance.

To ensure the smooth running of pitch allocations, it may be necessary for Fife Council to share details of team secretaries with other teams using the same facility.