A historic heatwave across California this week is counting for the athletic department and athletes ushering in a new normal.
Over the past seven days, heat domes covering the Bay Area have broken record temperatures in multiple locations, prompting high school and college athletics in the area to postpone or cancel events and reduce practice times to one day. I was forced to reconfigure during the cooler hours.
While this is unprecedented, climate change and more general extreme weather could lead to long-term adaptations.
“There’s an element of adaptation. “It happens every year because we’re playing somewhere where[extreme temperatures]are a bigger issue, but here[the Bay Area]anyway, it’s our It will come down to
San Jose State University has moved Thursday’s women’s soccer game to later in the evening. Women’s volleyball His tournament was moved to Loyola Marymount because Spartan’s indoor facility lacks air conditioning.
Across high school sports, the Contra Costa County Department of Health has issued guidelines to discontinue outdoor activities while temperatures reach 105 degrees.
“It’s not going to be an outdoor activity for anyone,” said Vic Galli, a high school football coach in Pittsburgh. “It covers all sports and physical education in the district.”
Livermore High School football coach James Petersdorf said his district came to a screeching halt at 100 degrees.
“We changed almost everything this week,” said Petersdorf. “All games (Tuesdays) have been rescheduled and practices will take place before school or late in the evening after sunset to avoid direct heat.”
Livermore faced temperatures above 115 degrees on Tuesday. With temperatures of 108 degrees in Fresno on Friday and an excessive heat warning issued from 11 a.m. Wednesday through 8 p.m. I had to adjust it to same. Some, like Pittsburgh, changed their practice to 6am before it got too hot.
Alexander said there is no “final” temperature guide he considers unsafe for athletes, but used a wet-bulb thermometer to measure a combination of humidity and heat – covered with a damp cloth. Run the air through a thermometer – . Anyone can check the predicted wet-bulb global temperature for their area using the National Weather Service website.
The Cory Stringer Institute, named after the Minnesota Vikings player who died of heatstroke in 2001, says that if the wet bulb temperature is above 92, “Do not train outdoors. Please delay practice until the temperature cools down.”
Some teams play eight-minute quarters and move the clock to the second half to limit exposure to extreme heat.
Campolid football coach Kevin Macy has also opted for an early morning practice that ends at 8:30am.
CIF requires all coaches to receive training on the signs and symptoms of heat stroke.
On Tuesday, a football player at Del Oro High School in Placer County was reported to have collapsed twice on the field during practices in temperatures above 115 degrees Celsius. He was treated for heat stroke.
The World Health Organization says climate change-related heat stress is likely to kill 38,000 people annually worldwide between 2030 and 2050. Over the past few years, heatstroke deaths have occurred in football, creating alarm over heat safety for coaches. and an athletic trainer.
“Sports medicine staff must keep an eye on student-athletes,” Alexander said. “You can look around at a player and see that they are red in the face, sweating profusely, or have low energy levels, and you know that action needs to be taken.”
Alexander emphasized hydration as the strongest preventive measure against heatstroke.
Cooler temperatures are expected from Friday onwards, but this heat wave won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Gali. “Whether coaching or playing. These kids would know what to do now.”
Marisa Injemi is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]