The IHSA came out with new mandatory heat regulations at the beginning of this year’s fall athletic season. The rules soon came into play the week of August 21st. Every day reached over 90 degrees with the highest temperature reached being 96. Games and practices had to be shuffled around or canceled, interrupting the start of sports.
For example, the Girls Varsity Golf team had scheduled 4 of their 18 regular season matches in the heat week. Three of them were canceled, while only one of the matches was rescheduled.
The week-long hiatus interrupted the groove of some teams. Junior Macy Printy stated, “I started off pretty mediocre, coming out of the summer. And then after not playing not playing for a week and playing yesterday, it was awful.”
Other sports had to make adjustments as well. The boys soccer team moved their practices closer to sunset to avoid some of the heat. They still had to limit the practices to 1 hour each and cancel 2 games.
Junior defender Caleb Wood stated, “We had a couple people throw up. A couple people almost pass out, a lot of sweat. But I mean, it is what it is. We are kind of used to it all summer.”
While the heat really affected the higher activity level sports, some golfers believed the restrictions were unnecessary. Printy stated, “I mean you are just hitting a ball so I definitely think that since it is less active, there is so much more you can do and there is much more room to work around. Like maybe they could give us carts!”
Similarly in a tweet, Varsity Golf Coach, Andrew Turner stated, “It is my hope that the IHSA will look to quickly modify the “wet bulb” limits that create situations that severely impact athletes competing in practices and competitions. Yes it is hot in the summer. We drink water, use sunscreen and other precautions…we can still play!”
The new heat guideline for all high school sports are as follows:
IHSA Mandatory Heat Guidelines – All readings need to be taken if a WetBulb Globe Thermometer
| Cat 2 Activity Guidelines | |
| < 79.9 | Normal Activities – Provide at least three separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 3 min each during the workout. |
| 80.0 – 84.5 | Use discretion for intense or prolonged exercise; Provide at least three separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 5 min each. Cold Water Immersion must be available. (see below) |
| 84.6- 87.5 | Maximum practice time is 2 h. Contests may conclude if the temperature moves to orange mid-game with the required breaks provided. No new contests may be started if the temperature is in this range. For Football: players are restricted to helmet, shoulder pads, and shorts during practice. If the WBGT rises to this level during practice, players may continue to work out wearing football pants without changing to shorts. For All Sports: There must be 20 min of rest breaks distributed throughout each hour of practice. Cold Water Immersion must be available. (see below) |
| 87.6 – 89.9 | Maximum practice time is 1 h. For Football: No protective equipment may be worn during practice, and there may be no conditioning activities. For All Sports: There must be 20 min of rest breaks distributed throughout the hour of practice. Cold Water Immersion must be available. (see below) Consider postponing games or practices until a cooler time of day. |
| > 89.9 | 89.9 No outdoor workouts. Delay practice until a cooler WBGT is reached. |
graph sourced from IHSA.org
Megan Allen, Staff Writer
allme25@sages.us
The Sage Informer 
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