RCISD Heat Policy

Royse City High School

Tasha Langham, LAT – Head Athletic Trainer

Dustan Thrift, ATC, LAT – Assistant Athletic Trainer

Drew Colvin, Boys Campus Coordinator/Head Football Coach

Zach Snow, Girl’s Athletic Coordinator/Head Girls Cross Country

Administrative Officers for Athletics

Amy Anderson, Superintendent of Schools

Dallas Bookout, Executive Director of Athletics

David Petroff, Assistant Athletic Director

Goals:

To provide safeguards against the hazards of extreme heat illness.

To provide policies and procedures to be followed by Royse City ISD employees.

Introduction:

Emergency situations may arise at any time during athletic events. Expedient action must be taken in order to provide the best possible care to the athlete during emergencies and/or life threatening conditions. The development of an emergency plan will help ensure the best care will be provided.

The extreme heat, in our region is a concern to the health and safety of our athletes. Heat injuries cannot always be prevented, but with the education of coaches and controlled practice procedures, heat related illnesses could be minimized.

Participants this policy effects:

This policy is designed for any sport beginning working out after 12:30 pm or any sport continuing a work out after 12:30 pm. (For example: split workouts, one before school or during school and one after school)

Key Conclusions:

The education and implementation of heat policies will not prevent all heat illnesses, but a policy will enable us to minimize these problems. The key is to educate our coaches, athletes and parents in strategies to prevent heat illnesses.

Heat Policy

Section I—Chain of Command

The following chain of command will occur:

Notification of temperature

Central athletic staff will obtain weather report from the Perry Weather System, etc. prior to all workouts. The Head Athletic Trainer will email the High School and Middle School Principals, Boys’ Athletic Director, Girls’ Athletic Director, Athletic Secretary, and Middle School Coordinator’s. They will be responsible for notifying all coaches of all sports at their school of the daily temperature/heat index protocol prior to daily team activities.

High Schools will be emailed the warning stage and heat index by 1:00 pm for the afternoon workout.

The temperature/heat index of the day will dictate which protocol will be followed.

Daily temperature reports will be on file in the Head Athletic Trainer’s Office.

Middle Schools will be emailed the warning stage and heat index by 1:00 pm for the afternoon workout.

Perry Weather.

Enforcement of Policies

Head coach/staff athletic trainer will monitor time of exposure.

Staff athletic trainers will report any violations to the Boys’ and Girls’ Athletic Directors.

Head athletic trainer will meet with the head coach of the sport concerning violations.

Violations of the RCISD Heat Policy will be reported to the campus principal and the administrative officer for athletics in writing.

Section II—Definition of Terms

Practice-includes the total time of sport specific activity to include stretching/warm-up, water breaks, and conditioning activities

Heat Exposure-total time of activity conducted out doors.

Section III- Heat Policy

High School

Specific heat conditions will determine activity restrictions during practice according to the following:

Stage 1 - 100-105 degree Heat Index

Football (shorts, helmets, and shoulder pads)

water breaks every 30 minutes, 5 minutes total rest time with helmets off
2.5 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks, for Varsity and JV teams
9th grade - 2 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks
An open water policy will be in effect during the entire practice.

Football (full pad workout)

water breaks every 20 minutes, 5 minutes of total rest time with helmets off
2 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks, for Varsity and JV teams.
9th grade - practice will not exceed 1.5 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks
An open water policy will be in effect during the entire practice.
athletes should be allowed to remove helmets while not in contact drills

Cross Country Workouts/ Men’s and Women’s Track

runners remain on campus and/or within a park where they can be seen by the coaches
water breaks will occur every 30 minutes, 5 minute total rest time
practice will not exceed 2 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks
Track and field athletes will take a 5 minute break every 30 minutes; athletes should be off their feet.

Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Volleyball, and Tennis

players will be required to take a water break every 30 minutes, 5 minutes of total rest time
practice will not exceed 2 hours of total heat exposure including water breaks

Off-season programs

- 45 minutes of total heat exposure with 1 water break during this time.

Stage 2 - 106-110 Degree Heat Index

Football

shorts, helmets and shoulder pads only
Breaks will occur every 20 minutes, 5 minutes of total rest time
2 hours of total heat exposure, including breaks, for Varsity and JV teams

9th grade - shorts, shirts, and helmets.

Practice will not exceed 1.5 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks
1 minute station break every ten minutes
Athletes will stay at the station where they are working, staff and student athletic trainers will water the athletes.

Cross Country Workouts/ Men’s and Women’s Track

runners remain on campus and/or within a park where they can be seen by the coaches
water breaks will occur every 20 minutes, 5 minute total rest time
practice will not exceed 2 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks
Track and field athletes will take a 5 minute break every 20 minutes; athletes should be off their feet.

Baseball, Softball, Soccer, and Tennis

players will be required to take a water break every 20 minutes, 5 minutes of total rest time
practice will not exceed 2 hours of total heat exposure including water breaks

Off-season Workouts-All Sports

- 45 minutes of total heat exposure, a 5 minute water break during this time

Stage 3 - 111-115 Degree Heat Index

Football

shorts, shirts, and helmets only
breaks will occur every 20 minutes, 5 minutes of total rest time
1.5 hours of total heat exposure, including breaks, for Varsity and JV teams
There will be no outdoor practice for 9th grade teams
An open water policy will be in effect during the entire practice

Cross Country Workouts/ Men’s and Women’s Track

runners remain on campus and/or within a park where they can be seen by the coaches
water breaks will occur every 15 minutes, 5 minute total rest time
practice will not exceed 1.5 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks
Track and field athletes will take a 5 minute break every 15 minutes; athletes should be off their feet

Baseball, Softball, Soccer, and Tennis

required to take a water break every 20 minutes, 5 minutes of total rest time
practice will not exceed 2 hours of total heat exposure including water breaks

Off-season Workouts-All Sports

30 minutes of heat exposure, a 5 minute water break during this time

Stage 4 - 115+ Degree Heat Index

No outside practice will be allowed in any sport.

RCISD Middle Schools

Stage 1 - 100-105 Degrees Heat Index

Football

shorts, helmets, and shoulder pads
water breaks occurring every 30 minutes, 5 minutes of total rest time with helmets off
2 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks
an open water policy will be in effect during the entire practice
athletes should be allowed to remove helmets while not in contact

Off-season programs

45 minutes of total heat exposure, 1 water break during this time

Stage 2 – 106 - 110 Degree Heat Index

shorts, helmets, and t-shirts
1.5 hours of total heat exposure, including water breaks
25 minutes, 10 minute break, 25 minutes, 10 minute break, 20 minutes, go inside

Stage 3 – 111 + Degree Heat Index

There will be no outside practice

*Key Terms:

Heat Cramps

Heat cramps are muscular pain and spasm due to heavy exertion and dehydration. Heat cramps usually involve the abdominal muscles or legs, and it is generally thought that dehydration is the cause.

Heat Exhaustion

Heat exhaustion typically occurs when people exercise heavily or work in a warm, humid environment where body fluids are lost through heavy sweating. Fluid loss causes blood flow to decrease in the vital organs, resulting in a form of shock.

Heat Stroke

Heat stroke is life threatening. The victim’s temperature-control system, which produces sweating to cool the body, stops working. The body temperature can rise so high that brain damage and death may result if the body is not cooled quickly. Any heat stroke victim must be quickly cooled and transported for advanced medical attention.

Dehydration

Dehydration is when fluid loss exceeds fluid intake.

Effects of Dehydration

Dehydration can affect an athlete’s performance in less than an hour of exercise—sooner if the athlete begins the session dehydrated.
Dehydration of just 1%-2% of body weight (only 1.5-3 lbs. for a 150 lb. athlete) can negatively influence performance.
Dehydration of greater than 3% of body weight increases an athlete’s risk of heat illness (heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke).

Warning Signs of Dehydration

Recognize the basic signs of dehydration:

Thirst
Irritability
Headache
Weakness
Dizziness
Cramps
Nausea
Decreased performance

Fluid Guidelines

Before exercise

Drink 17-20 oz. of water 2-3 hours before exercise. Drink another 7-10 oz. of water 10-20 minutes before exercise.

During exercise

Drink early—even minimal dehydration compromises performance. Drink every 10-20 minutes, at least 7-10 oz of water. To maintain hydration, remember to drink beyond your thirst. Optimally, drink fluids based on amount of sweat and urine loss.

After Exercise

Within 2 hours drink enough to replace any weight loss from exercise. Drink approximately 20-24 oz. of a sports drink per pound of weight loss.

Re-hydration:

An athlete’s hydration status can be monitored by:

Body weight after exercise vs. before (weighing in)

Urine color (i.e. urine color chart per Internal Journal of Sports Nutrition)

Urine volume

HEALTH & SAFETY INFORMATION

SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE

ROYSE CITY ISD WEATHER GUIDELINES - HEAT POLICY

ROYSE CITY ISD WEATHER GUIDELINES - COLD POLICY

NEWS

TASHA LANGHAM

EIAN ADAMS

AMBER STRONG

NATHAN SWANNER