Local squads begin practice with new hydration rules

By Kenny Mitchell

kenny@westbowiepost.com

The new hydration rules became a fact of life for area schools this week with marching bands and football squads around the area using the new guidelines as they started practices this week, like the coaches and staff of the Hooks Hornets pictured here.

The Texas UIL issued new mandates and guidelines to address heat stress among high school athletes and band members this year, with the new rules taking effect on August 1, just ahead of the first day of football practice on Monday.

School districts across Texas are now required to use the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature to keep track of heat related conditions during outdoor physical activities, such as marching band practice and two-a-days.

WBGT was initially developed by the United States military all the way back in the 50’s to as a stop gap for heat-related deaths for recruits going through boot camp training exercises.

This is how it works.

The wet bulb temperature monitors how fast water evaporates from a wet cloth, which tells coaches how the local humidity and wind speed impacts a person’s sweat, while the globe temperature measures the actual radiant heat from sunlight with a thermometer inside a hollow black globe.

A dry bulb temp is also taken to measure the current air temperature in the shade. The new processes are different from the past as it takes into consideration the local humidity, and not just the temperature. With the humidity in Texas always being a factor in the “feels like” or heat index numbers.

To come up with the WBGT number you take 10% of the air temperature + 70% of the natural wet bulb temperature + 20% of the black globe temperature.

Under the new UIL guidelines, a WBGT score of 82 or less allows normal activities with at least three separate breaks per hour. A WBGT score of 92.1 or more signals a total stoppage of outdoor activities.

Experts say the new mandates are a direct response to heat related deaths and illness of Texas high school athletes in recent years, including a 15-year-old football player in Lancaster, Texas last year.

New Boston Athletic Director Stan Kimball responded to the new rules by saying, “It gives us a good idea of how the body is affected and the precautions necessary for preventing bad situations from happening.”

Hooks AD Todd Ledford stated, “We’ve been very intentional and very mindful of the new policy on wet bulb. We intend on being compliant with this and all UIL policy. I have been coaching in other states where this same policy has been in practice for years, so I have dealt with this issue before. If it keeps kids safe, I’m for it. Most of our practices will be conducted in the mornings as to avoid putting kids at risk.”

DeKalb AD Troy Zeringue echoed the thoughts of his coaching colleagues by saying, “As coaches we obviously want our kids to be safe, and I understand the reasoning behind it but we will have to play in the heat and get their bodies adapted one way or the other.”

And James Bowie AD Chance Blackburn added, “As coaches we obviously want our kids to be safe and I understand the reasoning behind it but we will have to play in the heat and get their bodies adapted one way or the other.”

The new rules will see coaches and band directors across the state giving their students regular breaks to hydrate, as well as, extra breaks when the temperatures are extremely high and dangerous. There is also the possibility that outdoor activities could be cancelled when the heat reaches a point above a certain threshold.

Simms ISD Superintendent Eddy May told the West Bowie Post, “Our student/athletes safety is always of the utmost importance. We will follow the UIL regulations exactly the way they are written to protect our kids.”