William Jewell College Athletics

Chain of Command 
The following chain of command will be utilized by the William Jewell College Athletic Department regarding participation in any inclement weather conditions.

• A Certified Athletic Trainer will make all decisions regarding the safety for William Jewell College athletes to participate in inclement weather conditions.
• If a Certified Athletic Trainer is not available or on-site, the Athletic Director will make all decisions regarding participation in inclement weather conditions.
• If a Certified Athletic Trainer or the Athletic Director are not available or on-site, the Head Coach and/or Assistant coaches will make all decisions regarding participation in inclement weather conditions.

 
Heat Related Policies
The following William Jewell College Heat related policies are based on the recommendations from the National Athletic Trainers Association and the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook.  

Athletic participation in hot/or humid environmental conditions poses special problems for student-athletes. Heat stress and resulting heat illness is a primary concern in these conditions.  Death from heat illnesses and dehydration can occur in any weather condition, which is why constant surveillance and education are necessary to prevent heat-related problems. 

Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Guidelines

WGBT Reading	WGBT Reading
Under 82.0F	Normal Activities: Provide minimum 3 separate rest breaks/hour minimum of 3 min each during workout
82.0-86.9F	Use discretion for intense or prolonged exercise. Watch at risk players carefully. Provide 3 separate rest breaks/hour minimum of 4 min each
82.0-86.9F	Maximum practice time is 2 hours. Football: players restricted to helmet, shoulder pads and shorts during practices. All equipment to be removed from for conditioning. For all sports provide 4 breaks/hour minimum of 4 min each
90.0-92.0F	Maximum length of practice 1 hour. No protective equipment may be worn during practice and there may be no conditioning activity. There must be 20 minutes of rest breaks provided during the hour of practice
Over 92.1F	No outdoor workouts, cancel exercise delay practices until cooler WBGT reading occurs

Guidelines for hydration and rest breaks

• Rest time should involve both unlimited hydration intake (water or electrolyte drinks) and rest without any activity involved.
• For football, helmets should be removed during rest time.
• The site of the rest time should be a ‘‘cooling zone’’ and not in direct sunlight.
• When the WBGT reading is greater than 868F (308C):
  • Ice towels and spray bottles filled with ice water should be available at the ‘‘cooling zone’’ to aid the cooling process.
  • Cold-immersion tubs must be available for practices for the benefit of any player showing early signs of heat illness.
• Definitions
  • Practice: The period of time that a participant engages in a coach-supervised, school-approved sport or conditioning-related activity. Practices are timed from the time the players report to the field until they leave the field.
  • Walk-through: This period of time shall last no more than 1 h, is not considered to be a part of the practice-time regulation, and may not involve conditioning or weight-room activities. Players may not wear protective equipment.

Decisions regarding practices will be made as soon as possible to facilitate coaches’ schedules accordingly. Coaches must be prepared to adjust practice times and length as well as the dress of the athletes. The William Jewell College Sports Medicine Staff will utilize the National Weather Service advisories and local weather forecasts to help predict future weather conditions. Practices may be altered due to anticipated weather conditions. 

Signs and Symptoms of Heat Illness

• Dry mouth
• Thirst
• Being irritable or cranky
• Headache
• Seeming bored or disinterested
• Dizziness
• Cramps
• Excessive fatigue
• Athlete not be able to run as fast or play as well as usual

Definitions

• 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 profuse sweating.
• Heat Syncope – Weakness fatigue and fainting due to loss of salt and water in sweat and exercise in the heat. Predisposes to heat stroke.
• 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.
• Heat Stroke – 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 a hot dry skin (heat stroke victims, contrary to popular belief, may sweat profusely).
• Heat Stroke – THIS IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY – DELAY COULD BE FATAL. Immediately cool body while waiting for transfer to a hospital. Remove clothing and immerse torso in ice/cold water. Immersion therapy has the best cooling rates. A plastic baby pool can be available at all practices and games, and can always be ready for immersion procedures. If not available apply ice packs in armpits, groin and neck areas. Continue cooling efforts until EMS arrives.
• Heat Exhaustion – OBTAIN MEDICAL CARE AT ONCE. Cool body as you would for heat stroke while waiting for transfer to hospital. Give fluids if athlete is able to swallow and is conscious. NFHS.org

Lightning Related Policies
The William Jewell College Athletic Training staff will monitor all severe thunder storm activity and make appropriate decisions regarding practice and play.  The decision to suspend activity will be based on the following:

• Once we receive a notification that there is lightening within 8 miles on the WeatherOps app we will immediately initiate the lightening protocol.
• Utilization of the Flash-to-Bang Method (Count the seconds from the time the lightning is sighted to when the clap of thunder is heard.  Divide this number by five to obtain how far away, in miles, the lightning is occurring).  If it reveals lightning to be within 6 miles (a 30 second count between the flash of lightning and the bang of thunder) activity should have already been suspended and everyone should already be in a safe shelter (2011-2012 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook).

Prior to Competition:  A member of the Athletic Training staff and/or Athletic Director will greet the officials, explain that we have a means to monitor the lightning, and offer to notify the officials during the game if there is imminent danger from the lightning.  The Athletic Director and game officials will then decide whether to discontinue play.

Announcement of Suspension of Activity: Once it is determined that there is danger of a lightning strike, the Athletic Training staff member will notify the head coach and/or official and subsequently immediately remove all athletes, coaches, and support staff from the playing field or practice area/facility.

Evacuation of the Playing Field: Immediately following the announcement of suspension of activity all athletes, coaches, officials and support personnel are to evacuate to the nearest enclosed grounded structure.

Safe/Unsafe Structures for Seeking Shelter

• A safe structure is any building normally occupied or frequently used by people such as a building with plumbing and electrical wiring that acts to electrically ground the structure. 
  • If there is no other shelter you may seek refuge in a hardtop vehicle. It is not the rubber tires that protect from lightning; it is the hard top metal roof that dissipates the lightning around the vehicle.
• An unsafe structure consists of a structure that is not properly electrically grounded and poses the risk for side flashes to people. Small covered shelters such as dugouts, rain shelters, golf shelters, and picnic shelters are very unsafe and pose the threat of injury from lightning.
  • Other dangerous locations include areas connected to, or near light poles, towers and fences that can carry a nearby strike to people. 

Returning to Playing Field and Resuming Activity
Activity should not be resumed until 30 minutes has passed since the last sound of thunder and last flash of lightning.  If lightning is seen and no thunder is heard, lightning may be out of range and therefore less likely to be a significant threat (2011-2012 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook)
 
Other Lightning Safety Tips:

• There should be no contact with metal objects (bleachers, fences, golf clubs, bats)
• Avoid single or tall trees, tall objects and standing in a group.
• The existence of blue skies and/or absence of rain are not protection from lightning. Lightning can strike 10 miles from the rain shaft.
• DO NOT LIE FLAT ON THE GROUND
• Avoid using a land line telephone. Cell phones are a safe alternative if in a safe structure.
• Avoid standing water and open fields
• If in a forest, seek shelter in a low area under a thick grove of small trees.
• If you feel your skin tingling immediately crouch and grab your legs and tuck your head as described above to minimize your body’s surface area.  DO NOT LIE FLAT.
• Persons who have been struck by lightning do not carry an electrical charge. Therefore, enact the EMS system and provide emergency care. CPR is what is most often required. If possible, move the victim to a safe location.
• For additional information refer to the National Lightning Safety Institute at www.lightningsafety.com

 
Directions for Using the SkyScan Lightning Detector.

1. Prior to practice or competition, monitor weather forecast via the Internet or by calling local agencies for up to date information.
2. Check for any National Weather Service-issued thunderstorm “watches” and “warnings”.
3. Monitor the weather for the following: sudden decrease in temperature, increase in air movement, sudden increase in humidity, visible dark clouds (though these do not have to be present for a lightning strike t o occur)
4. Communicate with officials and/or head coach prior to activity about potential for bad weather and our monitoring system.
5. Locate the SkyScan Lightning/Storm Detector in an area removed from other electronic devices or machinery, which could cause a false triggering.
6. The SkyScan Lightning/Storm Detector is designed to work in a vertical position.
7. Turn the unit on, by depressing the on/off switch
8. Allow the unit to perform a self-check and make sure all lights are working correctly.
9. If you are using the AC Adapter, depress the “Battery Save” button twice to extend the life of the back up batteries.
10. Press the tone button to activate the warning tone. (This must be done every time the lightning detector is turned on.)
11. Set the range of detection by depressing the “Range Select” button until the 8-20 mile light is illuminated.
12. Each time the SkyScan detects a lightning stroke it emits an audible warning tone for 1 second (it is not very loud so if there is ANY chance of bad weather you must have the SkyScan out where you can see and hear it).
13. Following the beep the lightning Range Indicator column will light up for approximately 3 seconds. The single indicator corresponding to the range of the detected stroke will blink for approximately 25 seconds.
14. Activity will be suspended when:
    1. The SkyScan registers 2 consecutive lightning strokes within the 8-20 mile range
    2. The Flash/Bang Method reveals lightning within a 6 mile range (30 second or less count between the flash of lightning and the bang of thunder)
15. Once you have determined that there is imminent danger of a lightning strike, communicate to the head coach and/or head official.
16. Evacuate the field and stands to an enclosed-grounded building. REMEMBER, a golf cart, automobile, or open shelter does not provide protection from a lightning strike. If there is no available shelter IE, cross-country, each individual should see an area that is flat and in the open. Crouch down wrapping your arms around your knees and remain in that position until the danger of lightning has passed.
17. Activity may be resumed only if the danger of a lightning strike is no longer present. This decision to resume activity is to be made by a member of the Athletic Training Staff, Athletic Director of Head Official.

The SkyScan can also detect severe weather conditions (high winds, tornadoes, etc) that may pose a threat to human life. The severe weather audible warning lasts for 15 seconds and the corresponding indicator on the unit lights up.

At William Jewell College:

• Baseball and Softball: Dugouts with metal roofs are NOT acceptable forms of shelter. All persons should be evacuated to the Mabee Center unless the threat is immediate and then automobiles are an acceptable alternative.
• Greene Stadium and Tennis Courts: Evacuate to the Mabee Center. For emergency situations restrooms and storage areas beneath stadium may be used.
• Soccer and Football grass practice fields: Evacuate to Mabee Center.
• Golf and Cross Country Course: Evacuate to Club House
• Soccer/Lacrosse Field: Evacuate to Mabee Center