Inland sports teams making adjustments during heat wave to adhere to state guidelines – Daily Bulletin

The Upland, San Jacinto Valley Academy and Webb football teams will be getting an early start Saturday morning.

Upland and Webb are playing games at 9 a.m. Saturday, and San Jacinto Valley Academy’s game will start at 10 a.m.

The Inland Empire is experiencing a heat wave this week, with temperatures first reaching triple digits Monday and expected to continue into early next week. To comply with state guidelines regarding extreme heat and air quality, area high schools and college sports teams have been making adjustments to their practice times and game schedules.

Assembly Bill 1653 was passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last October. AB 1653 mandated the California Interscholastic Federation, the state’s governing body for high school sports, develop guidelines, procedures and safety standards for the prevention and management of exertional heat illness by July 1, 2024. The CIF instituted guidelines that have been adopted by other states associations in recent years.

In 2021, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) placed an emphasis on Wet Bulb Global Temperature measurements and funded grants to provide Kestrel 5400 Heat Stress Trackers to schools. The CIF is assisting its members schools, as well.

Wet Bulb Global Temperature is a measurement of heat stress in direct sunlight that factors temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover. Depending on the WBGT reading, schools could have to adjust procedures at practices and games, ranging from additional hydration breaks to delays and cancellations of practices and events.

Some Inland schools are familiar with Wet Bulb readings because their districts already had implemented the system.

“We have learned how to look ahead and be flexible with practice times and structures,” Fontana athletic director Brandon Colbrunn wrote in an email. “The biggest change was adjusting our mindset and being more flexible.”

The Moreno Valley Unified School District invested in the Perry Weather system to have weather stations on site at each of its comprehensive high schools. These stations measure WBGT, air quality, precipitation, lighting and other weather-related factors and sends updates to the athletic departments via phone in case any modifications are necessary.

“Having the Perry Weather system has really helped take the guesswork out of things and freed our athletic trainer from having to always set up the WBGT monitors daily,” Canyon Springs athletic director Justin Remington wrote in an email. “At the end of the day, the student-athletes’ safety is our priority.”

And schools have made adjustments this week with that safety in mind. Teams that practice in the hours right after school ends are either practicing later in the evening or before school starts. Several schools have moved the start times of their lower-level football games to later in the evening, when the WBGT readings will be lower.

That is not an option for every school, however. Summit High School in Fontana does not have an on-campus stadium with lights, so practices later in the evening are not an option for its teams. Athletic director Robert Peterson said the school’s freshman football game this week had to be moved to Beaumont High School.

A handful of Inland athletic directors said they have had to reschedule or cancel girls tennis, boys water polo, and girls golf matches because of the high temperatures in the afternoon. Most varsity football games being played Thursday and Friday have not been affected, however, as WBGT readings likely will be in range acceptable by the usual start times of 7 and 7:30 pm

“The Wet Bulb (system) has been a pleasant surprise,” Ayala athletic director Warren Reed said. “We now have data to see what is best for our student-athletes when it comes to the weather. “We see this change as a positive move.”

High school athletic departments are not the only ones making adjustments this week. The Riverside City College football team was originally scheduled to play its season opener at 1 pm Saturday, but the game against Long Beach City College was pushed back to 7 pm at Wheelock Stadium in Riverside.

Originally Published: September 5, 2024 at 12:42 pm