The ACT Government will keep 20 of its irrigated sports fields open during the upcoming two-week maintenance period so Canberrans can train before the winter season.

Most fields will undergo maintenance from Saturday 18 March to Friday 31 March.

Work will involve top dressing (spreading a new layer of sand/soil) and upgrades to turf, installing goal posts, and marking lines.

“We’ve been working with peak sporting bodies, and will allow some fields to stay open during this time as a trial,” Yvette Berry, ACT Minister for Sport and Recreation, said. “We hope this new approach will allow more time for training.

“Our relationship with sport peak bodies is important, and if this trial works well, we may make it part of the normal maintenance period at the end of the winter and summer seasons.”

The 20 sports fields to remain open for bookings are:

• Campbell
• Conder (two fields)
• Curtin (two fields)
• Duffy
• Griffith (two fields)
• Hall
• Holt (two fields)
• Kaleen (three fields)
• Page (two fields)
• Pearce (two fields)
• Watson (two fields)

Sporting groups who want to train at any of the open sports fields should liaise with their sport peak body, who will make the necessary arrangements with the ACT Government.

Maintenance work has already started at some sports fields, Ms Berry said. Crews inspected and repaired lighting towers and fixed wiring damaged by birds.

Other sports fields that still need maintenance will close later when it suits the various sporting groups.

The ACT Government manages 127 irrigated sportsground sites across the Territory; 882 sports fields can be hired for training and competitions year-round.