Athletic Coaches Monitor Heat Index for Student Safety
Athletic coaches are professionally trained to monitor severe weather conditions for the possible effect on student athletes. It is their responsibility to ensure that safe practice conditions are upheld while athletes are also carefully monitored for any signs of physical distress. In the hot summer days it is important to calculate the heat index, and to look for symptoms of heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or even heat stroke. A necessary instrument for the professional athletic trainer is a Heat Index Meter, also known as a Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer (WBGT). It provides a composite temperature used to estimate the effect of temperature, humidity, and solar radiation on humans. This instrument determines true heat stress temperature by accounting for air currents, relative humidity and solar load in addition to air temperature and relative humidity.
Coaches follow local policies to use theWBGTreading for determining the ratio of workout time to a rest and hydration cool down as well as to determine when practice must be canceled or relocated. TheWBGT provides a reading which indicates a level of heat stress. Consult with your local agency to adhere to the appropriate policy in your region. Climatic variations directly impact the interpretation of the heat stress index.
On hot days it is important to advocate the importance of unlimited hydration intake of water or electrolytes. A cool down period should be in the shade, out of direct sun. Allow helmets and significant padding to be removed. When the reading is over 86 degrees in Fahrenheit, provide ice towels and iced water in spray bottles to help the body cool down quickly. Immediately submerge an athlete in a cold immersion tub if the player shows signs of heat illness such as dizziness, nausea, shallow, rapid breathing, vomiting, or a change in consciousness. If the body temperature is over 105 degrees in Fahrenheit, get medical help immediately!
A Wet Bulb Globe Temperature reading is the most accurate way to ensure the physical well-being of student athletes. The following example is a modified guideline from the American College of Sports Medicine.
WBGT READING in ° F | ACTIVITY AND REST BREAK GUIDELINES |
Under 82.0° F | Normal activities--Provide at least three separate rest breaks each hour of minimum duration of 3 minutes each during workout. |
82.0 to 86.9° F | Use discretion for intense or prolonged exercise; watch at-risk players carefully; Provide at least three separate rest breaks each hour of a minimum of four minutes duration each. |
87.0 to 89.0° F | Maximum practice time is 2 hours. For Football: players restricted to helmet, shoulder pads, and shorts during practice. All protective equipment must be removed for conditioning activities For all sports: Provide at least four separate rest breaks for each hour of a minimum of four minutes each. |
90.0 to 92.0° F | Maximum length of practice is one hour, no protective equipment may be worn during practice and there may be no conditioning activities. There must be 20 minutes of rest breaks provided during the hour of practice. |
Over 92° F | No outdoor workouts; Cancel exercise; delay until a cooler Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer reading occurs |
