When members of the UCSD men’s ultimate team were informed that the Prez Day Tournament — the biggest annual event of its kind west of the Mississippi — would be canceled on account of water-logged fields, none expected to find the team suffering consequences through March of 2006. Who would?

But that is the situation now facing the Squids, who are currently serving the last week of a three-week ban on all practice and play as a result of incidents that unfolded between Feb. 19 and Feb. 21. Meanwhile, team captains and the tournament director also have to start pulling together funds to independently pay off thousands of dollars in damages to privately owned fields that were apparently destroyed by irresponsible use.

A little background: The Prez Day Tournament is the ultimate team’s annual competition for the best qualifying teams from around the country to come together and vie for a championship. Typically, at this time of year, San Diego is the ideal location for teams that are stuck in colder climates to put on some shorts and play in our fair weather. In case you hadn’t noticed already, this is not a typical year in San Diego.

Regardless, the tournament was planned months in advance to allow teams to compete in qualifying rounds and plan their trips. Because ultimate is not an NCAA-sanctioned sport, very few schools are willing to put forth money for these athletes, and the players must pay for their own travel expenses and accommodations. This is the case with all club sports.

So, when rain led to the untimely closure of all of UCSD’s many fields over the holiday weekend, there was a large number of people still anxious to play — literally hundreds of them.

At the time, the rational conclusion was to direct those teams that wanted to throw a disc around to other local fields until a better solution could be reached. In retrospect, this decision may have been short-sighted. However, it is the only thing that the Squids are directly accountable for, despite the severity of their punishment.

UCSD’s outdoor field-using teams have a problem that requires attention, or this will not be the last time we are faced with a conundrum like the one affecting the ultimate team. The campus practically has more grass fields than there are sports to use them — until it rains. Then there are none. There is not a single all-weather field where teams can relocate matches that are otherwise called on account of weather.

There is a degree of logic at work here. Because they are located in a generally a dry place, the fields at UCSD are designed to work like sponges, collecting as much water as possible from each rain, then irrigating the grass more efficiently than constant watering could. But that leaves no alternatives for the odd year when San Diego starts looking like Seattle.

So what options are left for a club sport like ultimate when it is slated to host more than 30 teams on a rainy weekend? The sensible answer is to send them to other fields nearby and let the tournament go on as smoothly as possible.

Club sports director Scott Berndes was aware that other teams were being advised to find local fields on which to play, but didn’t vocally reject the idea until after complaints were filed regarding the use and damage of both private and public fields. There was no reason for him to do so. Ultimately, to Berndes’ credit, he backed the team by representing it on behalf of UCSD Sports Clubs and softened what could have been a much more debilitating blow to the organization.

Another question that is raised by the Prez Day Tournament cancellation is one that appeals to all field-usng club sports and the sway (or lack thereof) that these teams have in matters of field closures.

A common complaint lodged by athletes from a number of club sports teams is the school’s reluctance to cancel a varsity match compared to the ready willingness with which a club sport match is called.

Regardless of which teams are receiving fiscal support, these are the same fields, and they should therefore be treated with equal discretion.

I’m not going to say that fall soccer matches should be postponed the next time it drizzles, but the threshold for what qualifies as potentially damaging for fields needs to be common, and once it is crossed, there has to be a local alternative.

The bottom line is that the punishment is unsuited for the offense. These guys are not criminals; they are athletes who were trying to facilitate a significant number of other athletes when nature interfered with their plans. There is no reason for college students who are only guilty of wanting to play their sport in the rain to have to account for campus inadequacies.