New Calif. law could bring high school sports' entire fall calendar in question

[Muda69]

https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/climate-change-high-school-sports-football-19723995.php

Quote

As if the start of a new season weren’t stressful enough, high school football coaches across California have to add a new vital instrument to their equipment checklist for games and practices this year: a specialized thermometer.

A new California law went into effect this season that mandated the state’s governing body of high school sports set up additional rules to help prevent student-athletes from getting “exertional heat illness.” The California Interscholastic Federation did just that in July, establishing three categories of CIF sections, each with its own cap on the temperature that high school teams can practice and compete in. 

 

Schools measure these temperatures with a wet bulb globe thermometer, which tracks temperature, wind speed, humidity, sun angle and cloud cover, providing a very accurate measure of the heat. If the temperature crosses the assigned temperature threshold, practices have to be either rescheduled or postponed. While this more comprehensive measure of heat could yield a cooler temperature if, say, there’s a strong breeze on an arid day, it also means that any humidity on an already fiery afternoon is going to make the number skyrocket.

The idea was to account for relative temperature differences across the state. Category 1 sections — which are most regions along the coast of California, including the Bay Area, where temperatures are cooler — cannot host outdoor athletic activities if it’s hotter than 86.2 degrees, as measured by a wet bulb globe thermometer. Category 2 sections are capped at 89.9 degrees, and Category 3 sections — most of which are in the often scorching Central and Coachella valleys — are capped at 92 degrees. 

 

It hasn’t been a perfect rollout. All of San Diego County, for example, is classified under Category 1. Yet temperatures at two different schools in the region can vary by as much as 23 degrees, as the San Diego Union-Tribune reported, prompting complaints by coaches that schools that are forced to cancel practice will be at a disadvantage. A similar situation might not necessarily affect the San Francisco and Oakland CIF sections, given they are both quite small, but it would certainly affect the Central Coast Section, where both Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties are classified under Category 1. On Tuesday, for instance, San Jose high schools saw the air temperature reach the 90s for most of the day, until around 7 or 8 p.m., while Santa Cruz never even touched 80 degrees, putting practices at risk for one area but not the other.

 

The system’s flaws go beyond ignorance of microclimates. Experts say it’s a Band-Aid solution for a worsening climate problem that could bring the entire fall sports schedule into question. 

“Anytime we tie responses to a discrete temperature value in an era of a rapidly changing climate, we could be setting ourselves up for future changes,” says Brian Garcia, a warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service. “In other words, we’ll likely have to go back to the drawing board and reassess this.”

It’s no secret that the planet is actively getting warmer, making the already blistering period when high school sports begin in late August even more dangerous. Just last month, the Bay Area experienced a heat event that lasted nearly two weeks and brought temperatures of 110 degrees to inland areas. While a cooler August has followed, the heat wave was an indication of how temperatures have risen over time, according to Garcia.

“It’s kind of like watching the stock market,” Garcia told SFGATE. “There are ups and downs, but the trend is upward over the long term, and that’s kind of what we’re looking at when we look at heat events. We’re probably going to see them more frequently, and probably more intense, as the years go on.”

Given that the highest temperature limit under CIF policy is 92 degrees, as measured by a wet bulb globe thermometer, individual days of extreme heat — let alone extended periods like the aforementioned 11-day heat wave that led to a record-breaking July for the Bay Area — will obviously disrupt practices and games. Practices may need to move to the early morning before classes begin; games will likely get pushed later and later into the night. As one San Diego County head coach told the Union-Tribune, “I can’t ask my players to be on campus at 6:30 a.m. I can’t ask them to stay on campus until 8 or 9 p.m. I love the intent of the rule, but intent and execution are two very different things.”

Postponed practices and games don’t happen in a vacuum. If the varsity football team needs to use the field, then the junior varsity or freshman team can’t. Schools that have only one field for an entire athletic program to share will be squeezed, as multiple teams will be fighting for practice time in a narrow window of acceptable temperatures, turning this issue into the haves versus the have-nots. Then there are the sports that can only really happen under sunlight, such as cross country, and the ones like water polo that take place in a pool yet are still subject to the temperature caps. 

Meanwhile, with their athletics commitments getting pushed to the fringes of the day, students will have to figure out when they’ll have time for homework, if their parents can even drop them off or pick them up at those times (let alone the safety implications for students who would need to take public transit in the early morning or late evening), or when they can, you know, sleep and socialize.

If they can overcome those obstacles, then they still face the physiological risks. As Garcia points out, even the low temperatures at the end of a hot summer day can affect our bodies.

Heat acclimatization is a vital part of preventing heat-related illnesses, as a Johns Hopkins article notes. This principle is reflected in the CIF’s new category system; ostensibly, students playing in Category 3 sections, which are in desert areas, would be more accustomed to heat than those playing in Category 1 sections, which are closer to the ocean. 

The truest test of this system comes Friday. The opener for a team like De La Salle is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., when the temperatures have dropped off for the day; however, all this week in the East Bay city of Concord, where De La Salle plays, the standard forecast shows highs in the mid-90. While practice schedules are not public, it’s entirely likely the CIF rules will have forced De La Salle to at least postpone, if not outright cancel, some important work this week. As a result, by the time the Friday game rolls around, the best school in the Bay Area could very well be underprepared to start its 2024 campaign. Similar scenarios are playing out with Clayton Valley Charter, another Concord high school, as well as Pittsburg, Los Gatos, San Ramon Valley in Danville and St. Francis in Dublin. If enough big-time football programs run into problems, maybe the system will finally adjust.

Interesting law.  I wonder how long before it spreads to other states.  After all there is that saying "As goes California, so goes the nation."

 

[US31]

26 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/climate-change-high-school-sports-football-19723995.php

Interesting law.  I wonder how long before it spreads to other states.  After all there is that saying "As goes California, so goes the nation."

 

Doesn’t Indiana already do this?  I feel like our Trainer takes wet bulb to determine if we need to adjust practice…I don’t think this is uncommon

[WWFan]

Get those indoor facilities and it won't matter. Haha

[WCGrad92]

Already happening here, At least at Monrovia it is.

[Irishman]

IHSAA Guidelines 

WBGT=Wet Bulb Globe Temperature

[IndianaWrestlingGuy1]

No one cares about California. I'd rather hear a news story out of North Korea or Russia. 

[tango]

That's been around for many years. We've had it since 2014 or so.

7 hours ago, IndianaWrestlingGuy1 said:

No one cares about California. I'd rather hear a news story out of North Korea or Russia. 

Come now... 

[Muda69]

9 hours ago, Irishman said:

IHSAA Guidelines 

WBGT=Wet Bulb Globe Temperature

Thank you for this info, Irishman.   But these guidelines appear to be mainly for practices.  What about actual games?

 

[gonzoron]

13 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Thank you for this info, Irishman.   But these guidelines appear to be mainly for practices.  What about actual games?

 

I have seen games stopped for frequent water breaks due to the heat, postponed until a later time, etc. It already happens, nothing new here.

It might be worth mentioning that 3 high school athletes have died this week. What about the children?

Edited August 29, 2024 by gonzoron

[gonzoron]

7  MS and HS football players have died nationwide in August.

[btownqbcoach1]

Games start at 7pm 

Practices 330-430 start time. Massive difference in regards to wet bulb readings. 

[btownqbcoach1]

10 hours ago, Irishman said:

IHSAA Guidelines 

WBGT=Wet Bulb Globe Temperature

That has actually been updated, right? 

Brownstown and Columbus North both use this... The circled category is what both of those schools use to determine practice. 

[Muda69]

1 hour ago, gonzoron said:

It might be worth mentioning that 3 high school athletes have died this week. What about the children?

I've always been told on this forum that High School Football is a dangerous game and children take a risk when choosing to participate. With the consent of a parent/guardian of course.

Are all heat/humidity related deaths in high school football an act of negligence by some party?

 

 

[gonzoron]

35 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Are all heat/humidity related deaths in high school football an act of negligence by some party?

Is this what you believe? Who even brought up the subject of negligence?

[Muda69]

5 minutes ago, gonzoron said:

Is this what you believe? 

Not necessarily.  It it why I asked the question.

 

6 minutes ago, gonzoron said:

Who even brought up the subject of negligence?

Umm, the parents of children that have died.  Case in point:

https://www.wthr.com/article/news/court-orders-new-trial-in-2001-football-death/531-2e0bf576-d522-45c6-8dc9-3cae9e39237a

Quote

The Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial in a lawsuit over the heat-related death of a high school football player more than five years ago. The three-judge panel, however, did not accept arguments by attorneys for the parents of 17-year-old Travis Stowers that Clinton Central school officials should have been found negligent.

Instead, the court ruled that a Marion Superior Court judge erred by not including a jury instruction suggested by attorneys for Alan and Sherry Bowers. The proposed instruction would have described the scope of school release forms.

The court on Thursday sent the case back to Marion County for a new trial and ordered the instruction be included.

Stowers was a junior at Clinton Central High School, about 30 miles east of Lafayette, when he collapsed during practice in July 2001 on a day when temperatures reached the 90s. He was treated by a team trainer before being taken to an Indianapolis hospital, where he died the next morning. Doctors determined his body temperature had reached 108 degrees.

His parents sued Clinton Central schools and the Indiana High School Athletic Association in 2002, claiming school officials disregarded rules limiting hot-weather practices.

A jury determined after a trial last year that the school was not negligent and was not liable for the boy's death. A special prosecutor appointed in the case declined to file any criminal charges.

The Stowerses also argued in their appeal that neither they nor their son had assumed any risk and that Travis did not contribute to his death through his own negligence. The defense at the civil trial had argued that he waited too long to inform a coach he was not feeling well after appearing to have recovered from vomiting in the first of two practice sessions that day.

 

[cloudofdust]

1 hour ago, btownqbcoach1 said:

That has actually been updated, right? 

Brownstown and Columbus North both use this... The circled category is what both of those schools use to determine practice. 

Yes, that is my understanding as well. Due to geographical location and climate, southern Indiana is Cat 3 which allows activity during higher temps.

[Donnie Baker]

11 hours ago, IndianaWrestlingGuy1 said:

No one cares about California. I'd rather hear a news story out of North Korea or Russia. 

Be careful you’ll make the l&@bs mad. I swear to God you will 

[cloudofdust]

Leave it to California to spend time and money on developing something that most states have already had in place and call it revolutionary.

[foxbat]

1 hour ago, btownqbcoach1 said:

Games start at 7pm 

Practices 330-430 start time. Massive difference in regards to wet bulb readings. 

Some general info concerning wet bulb temps last August in Marion County.  For the most part, there was only roughly a week last August where restrictions might have entered into play at the Cat 3 level.  If I recall correctly, many in the state moved game times to get out of that range or rescheduled for Saturday.

Here's the link if folks want to play around with some data mining: https://marion-in.weatherstem.com/data?refer=/uindy . It allows you to download data to do your own analysis or provides charts/tables.  It's pretty flexible for historical data, location, etc.   

 

 

[Gipper]

Play like a champion.

[btownqbcoach1]

1 hour ago, cloudofdust said:

Leave it to California to spend time and money on developing something that most states have already had in place and call it revolutionary.

Big facts. 

[Muda69]

2 hours ago, cloudofdust said:

Leave it to California to spend time and money on developing something that most states have already had in place and call it revolutionary.

I don't recall seeing the word "revolutionary" in the linked article.  Can you please point out the sentence where it is used?

 

[Whiting89]

No one cares about California here 

please stick to Indiana topics only

[cloudofdust]

26 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

I don't recall seeing the word "revolutionary" in the linked article.  Can you please point out the sentence where it is used?

 

I'll be totally honest. I did not read the article. The intention of my post was to attract your attention and lure a response. 

[Muda69]

9 minutes ago, Whiting89 said:

please stick to Indiana topics only

No. 

Just now, cloudofdust said:

The intention of my post was to attract your attention and lure a response. 

You win the internet.