It’s not just the heat, it’s the humidity — and a couple other things.
Prospect High School football coach Dan DeBoeuf and the Knights were all set to hit the practice field at 4:05 p.m. Monday.
When the predicted temperatures for Monday and Tuesday reached excessive heat warning levels above the 90s, things changed.
Northwest Suburban High School District 214 canceled all after-school activities.
Following a planned half-hour team meeting Monday, DeBoeuf instead had the Knights stay indoors for walk-throughs of plays from 4-5 p.m. with the team using two gym spaces.
Tuesday was predicted to be even hotter. Prospect’s football practice was rescheduled outdoors from 6:50-8 a.m. to take advantage of more palatable morning temperatures projected in the high 70s.
Sophomore Collin Murrin pauses for a water break during morning football practice at Prospect High School on Tuesday in Mount Prospect. Afternoon temperatures were expected to reach 98 degrees.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
DeBoeuf, also an assistant athletic director, said these cancellations happen every year.
“By making that decision early it gives us an opportunity to plan,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “This morning before us we had tennis, cross country, soccer, flag football — we had the ability to get a bunch of people that practice today, which was huge. And if we waited ’til the last minute we’d be stuck scrambling after school, trying to find gym space, which is really tough.”
Sophomore Nolan Albrecht takes a drink at the water station during morning football practice at Prospect High School on Tuesday in Mount Prospect. Afternoon temperatures were expected to reach 98 degrees.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Illinois High School Association (IHSA) member schools follow bylaws and policy regarding heat that align with Wet Bulb Globe Temperature or WBGT.
That system, measured by a Wet Globe thermometer, monitors heat stress under factors of temperature, humidity, wind speed, cloud coverage and sunlight.
The warning system, which the IHSA said athletic trainers will monitor, kicks in at readings above 80 degrees, in which “discretion” is needed for prolonged activities, with frequent water breaks required.
Practice times, 20-minute breaks and warnings against the use of protective equipment and conditioning are at play in two separate WBGT distinctions from 84.6 to 89.9 degrees.
Starting at 84.6 degrees on the color-coded WBGT scale, no athletic contests can begin. A reading above 89.9 degrees eliminates outdoor practices, workouts or competitions, per the IHSA.
Readings should be taken 30 minutes before a practice or game, and every 30 minutes throughout the event, the IHSA said.
Armed with her hand-held Wet Globe thermometer, in lieu of a school district handling affairs at St. Francis, veteran athletic trainer Sarah Anderson is the point person making decisions.
Taking a reading of 86 degrees on the Spartan tennis courts at 1:08 p.m. Monday, she had to make one.
“We had a home tennis match, and because we’re currently right now in the Orange (between 84.6 and 87.5 degrees) we had to cancel that tennis match,” Anderson said.
She figured it was only going to get hotter, but still was going to take readings every hour to see if outdoor events, which include physical education classes and band practice, could still occur on a limited basis.
“We try not to blanket it all, but our No. 1 priority is the safety of the kids, and everyone involved,” said Anderson.
She said the IHSA’s current guidelines weren’t present early on in her 23-year career at St. Francis. She may have a little more leeway than say, District 214, but there is “no gray area” under the IHSA guidelines, which are the same for any IHSA-member school.
Anderson agrees with DeBoeuf; these protocols come into play every year.
“I just think we live in Illinois and we get our four seasons and we just have to learn how to adapt,” Anderson said.