SMP Athletics is dedicated to ensuring our student-athletes' safety during outdoor athletic participation in the hot summer months. During hot weather conditions, the athlete may be subjected to the following:

• Heat Cramps - Painful cramps involving abdominal muscles and extremities caused by intense, prolonged exercise in the heat and depletion of salt and water due to sweating.

• Heat Syncope - Weakness, fatigue, and fainting due to loss of salt and water in sweat and exercise in the heat. Predisposes to heatstroke.

• Heat Exhaustion (Water Depletion) - Excessive weight loss, reduced sweating, elevated skin and core body temperature, excessive thirst, weakness, headache, and sometimes unconsciousness.

• Heat Exhaustion (Salt Depletion) - Exhaustion, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, and dizziness due to profuse sweating and inadequate replacement of body salts.

• 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 hot dry skin (heatstroke victims, contrary to popular belief, may sweat profusely).

To help prevent the chances of a heat-related illness, St. Michael’s Prep utilizes the following guidelines based on the recommendations from the National Athletic Training Association and The American College of Sports Medicine:

• SMP requires all athletes have a physical exam with a medical history before the start of participating in physical activity. History of previous heat illness and type of training activities before organized practice begins should be included.
• Athletes are subject to a period of heat acclimation at the beginning of the fall season sports. This involves progressively increasing the intensity and duration of physical activity and phasing in protective equipment (if applicable). This process takes 7-14 days. Below are guidelines for tackle football:      DAYS 1–2: Single 3-hour practice OR one 2-hour practice and one 1-hour field session. Helmets only.
       DAYS 3–4: Single 3-hour practice OR one 2-hour practice and one 1-hour field session. Helmets and shoulder pads.
       DAY 5: Single 3-hour practice OR one 2-hour practice and one 1-hour field session. Full pads.
       AFTER DAY 5: One day between days with multiple practices. Under 5 hours total practice time. Under 2 hours of walk-throughs.
• The most important safeguard to the health of the athlete is the replacement of water. Water will be on the field and readily available to the athletes at all times. Water is available in unlimited quantities. Drinking ample water before practice or games has also been found to aid performance in the heat.
• Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is the recommended forecast measurement to be used to monitor environmental conditions during outdoor physical activities. WBGT estimates the effect of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation using a combination of temperatures from three thermometers.

The American College of Sports Medicine has recommended WBGT guidelines that dictate modifications in activity (work: rest ratios, hydration breaks, equipment worn, length of practice) at given WBGT temperatures to prevent Exertional Heat Stroke.

The SMP Athletic Trainer takes WBGT readings from a Kestrel 5400 Heat Stress Tracker before and during every outside event or practice to accommodate accordingly based on adopted guidelines. The table below provides a guideline for the modification of activity based on the environmental conditions.

WBGT READINGS / ACTIVITY GUIDELINES AND MODIFICATIONS