The rain, rain, doesn't want to go away.

Byline: Joe Mosley The Register-Guard

What, soccer isn't supposed to be an aquatic sport?

Tell it to Dave Battaglia, the guy trying to find time and space enough for close to a thousand youth and adult sports teams this spring on the handful of Eugene athletic fields that remain navigable without the aid of swim fins or paddle boards.

"It's getting old, you know?" Battaglia said Friday as soccer and other spring sports teams were being asked to refrain from practicing for at least another week, and weekend game schedules became dawn-to-dusk affairs on the four artificial turf fields at local high schools.

"We haven't experienced this in seven or eight years," said Battaglia, the city's athletic manager. "There are some (grass) fields that are already gone, but many of them are just saturated and with four to seven days of dry weather they're going to be back and beautiful."

The problem is that a wet spring, with a drenching April as its exclamation point, has left natural grass athletic fields throughout the city on the verge of becoming quagmires. Sod already has been damaged on some fields, and others will require aeration and other extensive repair work if teams continue churning them into muck.

At more than 5.3 inches of rainfall and four days remaining in the month, this April may join just four other Aprils on record in which 6 inches or more of precipitation has fallen in Eugene.

The National Weather Service forecast through the end of the month on Wednesday calls for at least a chance of showers each day, with the possibility of thundershowers.

For the April record, go back 10 years to the 7.85 inches that fell in 1993.

But not since 1998 has an April produced as much as 3 inches of rain in Eugene.

"This year, we've never had that period in the spring where we've had a week of nice weather and everything dried out," Battaglia said. "That's what I see as the biggest difference between this and previous years."

National Weather Service records do show that Eugene's 5.68 inches of rain in March was the highest total for the month since 1997.

And while Eugene isn't close to its record for combined March-April precipitation - set in 1993 at more than 16 inches - Corvallis already has topped its two-month mark and Portland is close, according to data from the state climatologist's office at Oregon State University.

"The last few years it's been, 'Isn't this weather great?' " said Dave Clark, senior programmer at Kidsports. "Now it's back to the normal Oregon spring."

Clark said he's already asked all Kidsports "classic" soccer teams - for children in the fifth through ninth grades - to cancel practices for next week. Teams of younger children have been more self-policing, with many parents simply not wanting their young ones out in the wet weather.

"We're just in a game mode right now ... trying to get the games in on fields that are not swamps," Clark said. "But that creates problems for parents, having 10-year-olds out playing games at 9 o'clock on Sunday nights."

Most games have been rescheduled to be played on synthetic surfaces at the four Eugene School District high schools or on a handful of grass fields that remain in playable condition.

But in addition to Kidsports soccer, Battaglia has also been trying to find space for softball, baseball, lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee and even semi-pro football teams to practice or play.

"We've already canceled our adult Ultimate for the weekend," Battaglia said. "Right now, I'm just so thankful we have the four artificial turf fields. They're being maximized."

John Clark, for one, wouldn't mind seeing a few more synthetic fields around town - at least during this time of year. He's the turf and grounds supervisor for the city's Park Services Division.

"What we do is mow the lawns, and we are struggling right now, to say the least," Clark said. "Unfortunately, the grass doesn't stop growing because it's raining. In fact, it's growing full speed."

CAPTION(S):

Eight-year-old Taylor Noll (center) slips on some mud as he joins a group of playmates for an after school recreation program put on by Eugene Parks and Recreation at Washington School in Eugene. Steady rain has left many of the playing fields unusable this spring. A sign warns visitors to stay off the playing fields at Morrisette Park in Springfield. This month is already among the wettest Aprils ever, and more rain is in the forecast. Youth sports teams have been playing on a few fields with synthetic surfaces, but scheduling demands are causing some problems. Most games have been rescheduled to be played on synthetic surfaces. Soggy: Some practices have been cancelled Continued from Page B1