Heat Policy

The main problem associated with exercising in the hot weather is water loss through sweating. Water loss is best replaced by allowing the athlete unrestricted access to water. Water breaks two or three times per hour are better than one break an hour.

The best method is always to have water available and to allow the athlete to drink water whenever he/she needs it. Never restrict the amount of water an athlete drinks and be sure the athletes are drinking the water. The small amount of salt lost in sweat is adequately replaced by salting food at meals. Talk to your medical personnel concerning emergency treatment plans.

View a printable version of the Heat and Hydration Guidelines.

Late summer/early fall outdoor practices are conducted in very hot and humid weather in many parts of the United States. Due to the equipment and uniform needed in football, most heat problems have been associated with football. During hot weather, all athletes are subject to the following:

• Heat Cramps – Painful, involuntary cramping often in the legs, arms, or abdomen with muscle contraction. Heat cramps can easily be treated with rest, stretching of the muscle, and replacement of fluid and electrolytes.
• Heat Syncope – Occurs when an individual in a hot environment does not have adequate blood flow to the brain, causing the person to lose consciousness.
• Heat Exhaustion - Most common heat-related condition in active populations. It is the inability to continue exercise in the heat due to cardiovascular insufficiency (not enough blood being pumped to the heart) and energy depletion that may or may not be associated with physical collapse.
• Heatstroke – An acute medical emergency related to thermoregulatory failure. Associated with nausea, seizures, disorientation, and possible unconsciousness or coma. It may occur suddenly without being preceded by any other clinical signs. The individual is usually unconscious with a high body temperature and a hot dry skin (heatstroke victims, contrary to popular belief, may sweat profusely)

It is believed that the above-mentioned heat stress problems can be controlled, provided certain precautions are taken. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Sports Medicine, heat related illnesses are preventable.

WBGT Activity Guidelines

Based off Korey Stringer Institute Recommendations for Category 3. Chart values are WBGT measurements (not temperature or heat index measurements).

The following practices and precautions are recommended to prevent heat related illnesses:

1. Educate student athletes and parents about heat illnesses and prevention in compliance with Texas Education Code.
2. Each athlete MUST have a physical exam with a medical history when first entering a program and an annual health history update. History of previous heat illness and type of training activities before organized practice begins should be included. State high school association’s recommendations should be followed.
3. It is clear that top physical performance can only be achieved by an athlete who is in top physical condition. Lack of physical fitness impairs the performance of an athlete who participates in high temperatures. Coaches should know the PHYSICAL CONDITION of their athletes and set practice schedules/activities accordingly. Along with physical conditioning, the factor of acclimatization to heat is important. Acclimatization is the process of becoming adjusted to heat and it is essential to provide for GRADUAL ACCLIMATIZATION TO HOT WEATHER. It is necessary for an athlete to exercise in the heat if he/she is to become acclimatized to it. It is suggested that a graduated physical conditioning program be used. Final stages of acclimatization to heat are marked by increased sweating and reduced salt concentration in the sweat.
4. Staff athletic trainers or campus coaches/coordinators must modify work-to-rest ratios, practice schedules, and amount of equipment based on the environment.
5. The perception that water should be withheld from athletes during workouts has NO SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION. The most important safeguard to the health of the athlete is the replacement of water. Water must be on the field and readily available to the athletes at all times. It is recommended that a minimum of five minutes be scheduled for a water break every half hour of heavy exercise in the heat. WATER SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN UNLIMITED QUANTITIES. Check and be sure athletes are drinking water. Cold water is preferable. Drinking ample water before practice or games has also been found to aid performance in the heat.
6. Salt should be replaced daily. Modest salting of foods after practice or games will accomplish this purpose. Salt tablets are not recommended. ATTENTION MUST BE DIRECTED TO REPLACING WATER – FLUID. REPLACEMENT IS ESSENTIAL.
7. Weight charts are tools that can be utilized to assess an athlete's fluid replacement between practices. It is recommended that weight charts be utilized during periods of time where 2 practices are occurring during a 24-hour period, or if there is an individual athlete that seems to be significantly struggling with heat and/or fluid replacement, such as athletes that are known to sweat excessively. In circumstances where weight charts are deemed appropriate to use, athletes should be weighed before and after EACH practice. A 3% weight loss through sweating is generally safe. However, a weight loss over 3% could be potentially dangerous and an athlete should be restricted from activity in hot and humid conditions until their weight loss percentage has been restored to a less than 3% loss.
8. Observe athletes carefully for signs of trouble, particularly athletes who lose significant weight and the eager athlete who constantly competes at his/her capacity. Some trouble signs are nausea, incoherence, fatigue, weakness, vomiting, cramps, weak rapid pulse, visual disturbance and unsteadiness.
9. Athletes with special medical conditions should notify coaching and/or athletic training staff and have the ability to remove themselves from practice.
10. Cooling by evaporation is proportional to the area of the skin exposed. In extremely hot and humid weather, reduce the amount of clothing covering the body as much as possible.
11. Know both the temperature and humidity. The greater the humidity, the more difficult it is for the body to cool itself.
12. To identify weather stressing conditions, regular monitoring of environmental conditions will be performed daily.

CFISD will monitor heat conditions using the UIL recommended Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) as the forecast measurement to be used to monitor environmental conditions during outdoor physical activities. WBGT takes into account temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation using a combination of temperatures from three thermometers.

At the high school and middle school levels campus athletic trainers and coaches will use the Perry Weather system to monitor WBGT and severe weather activity.

All coaches assigned a weather app by district personnel must keep the app active and on when instructing students in and out of school.

If there is a time that the Perry Weather app is not available for use, a Kestrel device will be used to measure the WBGT. This includes practices that may occur off-campus, i.e., cross country or golf.

• The instrument will be set up 30 minutes prior to practice and will be read 15 minutes before practice to determine what level of the Heat Guidelines will be utilized for practice.
• Readings will be taken every 30 minutes and will be based on a 30-minute average.

In the event of severe weather situations, a district-wide email will be sent out by the athletic office to announce the suspension of athletic activity for a designated amount of time.

Every campus must have a written emergency plan with copies available to all staff. The EAP must include procedures to address heat emergencies that include onsite rapid cooling using cold water immersion or equivalent means. Be familiar with immediate first aid practices and prearranged procedures for obtaining medical care, including ambulance service.

Rapid cooling zones must be available for each outdoor athletic and marching band contest, practice, workout, or conditioning session that is held in wet bulb globe temperatures of 80 degrees or higher. Rapid cooling zones are required to have immediate availability of cold-water immersion tubs or tarps that can be filled with ice and water and wrapped around individuals to rapidly cool internal body temperature (TACO method)
and are encouraged to include a combination of the following options: ice sponges, towels, water misters, and shade.

Coaches & directors must provide unrestricted access to water at all times, and student-athletes must never be denied access to water.

Rest breaks must involve unlimited hydration intake and rest without any activity involved.

WBGT practice guidelines & limitations do not apply to UIL competitions. CFISD will monitor WBGT conditions prior to and during the contest and use appropriate emergency action plans for high temperature and humidity.

Any contest played in WBGT of 80 degrees or higher will have a rapid cooling zone on site and available at all times to all for full body, rapid cooling of participants experiencing heat illness.

Modifications that can be utilized may include (but are not limited to the following):

• Alteration of start times as possible to allow for participation in the best conditions possible,
• For teams who are waiting to warm-up, allowing access to air-conditioned gyms or locker rooms until organized warm-ups begin,
• Hydration and fueling strategies for participants on long pre-game bus rides,
• Unlimited access to cool water,
• Shade structures/tents on the sideline to allow for athletes to get out of the direct sunlight,
• Fans/misters to allow for evaporative cooling,
• Ice towels/sponges,
• Potential use of additional strategically placed official timeouts (possibly at the 6-minute mark or halfway through each quarter) agreed upon by both coaches and officials prior to the start of the game. This practice would allow the quick stoppage of play and permit officials, athletes, and coaches to quickly hydrate and cool off,
• Lengthening halftimes to allow for more complete cool down and hydration/refueling processes to occur,
• Having resources that allow athletes to refuel at halftime by providing appropriate snacks, and
• A modification, in addition to those listed above, for sub-varsity contests, including middle school, may include reducing the length of quarters if agreed upon by both schools.

1. What counts as practice? Practices are defined (per UIL) as the time period that a participant engages in a coach/director-supervised, school-approved sport or band conditioning-related activity. Practices are timed from when players report to the outside practice/workout area until the players leave the area. If a team goes outside during 7th period and continues practice after school, the time begins when the team goes outside during 7th period.
2. Do water breaks count toward the total practice time? Yes, if you have an hour to practice, water breaks count toward that total time.
3. What do I do if the WBGT goes up a level during practice? You must modify your practice to match the activity guidelines of the current WBGT.

• Ex. 1 - You start football practice at level 3 and have been outside for 15 minutes. The WBGT rises to level 4 during practice, athletes must remove shoulder pads for the remainder of practice, which can last for 45 minutes (you can not exceed the 2 hour max time of level 3 or 1 hour max time of level 4).
• Ex. 2 - You start football practice at level 3 and have been outside for 1 hour and 45 minutes. The WBGT rises to level 4 during practice, athletes must remove shoulder pads for the remainder of practice, which can last for 15 minutes (you can not exceed the 2 hour max time of level 3 or 1 hour max time of level 4).

4. What if the WBGT goes down a level during practice? You honor the new level requirements, factoring in the time you’ve already spent in the previous level, with one distinction: You can NOT add shoulder pads to a practice if you began without them.
5. If WBGT rises during a practice, when does the new level have to be adhered to? If the WBGT rises during a practice the athletic trainer will monitor the WBGT for 10 minutes. If the WBGT remains at the new level for the entire 10 minute, the new level must be followed for the remainder of practice. 
6. Can a “break” affect the time restrictions of a level? If a team is outside for 45 minutes or less and decides to suspend practice, they can come indoors, for a minimum of 45 minutes, and later resume outdoor practice at the current level and level restrictions. While indoors they may not condition or do weight room activities