Hot hot afternoon

ChrisSportsFan · #1 (**permalink**) Sun Sep 11, 2005, 09:07pm

Hey guys, I generally respond on the basketball side as that's the sport I officiate but I like to check over here as my 7th grade Son is in his second year of football and I've learned alot about rules from you guys.

Saurday was the homecoming game for my daughter's high school here in St. Louis and they played at 1 in the afternoon. It was hot but certainly not the hottest day we've had. Before the game the band played and 4 kids fell-out because of the heat. Then at halftime when they played 2 more kids fell-out and this time they performed without their jackets on. During the game I saw 1 player getting iced/watered down because of the heat. I played HS football down in Houston and never remember that happening 1 time. I did keep an eye on the officials and they seemed to get alot of water and seemed strong thruout the contest.

Is this a regular thing and do you guys think it's somewhat unreasonable to play afternoon games in September in areas like this where there is so much heat?

WyMike · #2 (**permalink**) Sun Sep 11, 2005, 09:54pm

Our first 4 games we routinely had "official time outs" for water breaks due to heat issues.

When I played ball the coach would often withhold water if he felt we weren't working (deserving) hard enough.

It's a safety issue.

WM

SouthGARef · #3 (**permalink**) Sun Sep 11, 2005, 10:07pm

Down in South GA we usually have water breaks throughout the year due to the heat. Usually just in the 1st & 2nd quarters though, because after halftime the temperature drops... if even just a little.

grantsrc · #4 (**permalink**) Mon Sep 12, 2005, 06:03am

Chris-
Over here on the good (KC) side of the state it has been warm too. We've been taking at least one or two heat/water breaks per half. We've also extended the minute after a score once or twice so the players can get more fluids in their systems.
So most of the people that had problems where band members? Probably just a case of not drinking enough water beforehand. I know on days when I have a game, I drink as much water as I can during the day and avoid pop/soda.
As for playing in the heat, I'm still not sure what I think about this. I think that a cutoff temp would be a good idea, but where would it be? How would it be measured? On another forum there was a post about a game in TX where the air temp at field level was 120, and the temp of the turf was 149 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just sick. And they still played the game. I still wonder why FB is a fall sport in southern states. But with proper preparation and water breaks, many things can be avoided.

ChrisSportsFan · #5 (**permalink**) Tue Sep 13, 2005, 10:03am

I see the band kids out there practicing all the time but in talking to other parents, they commented on now that school has started, the band practices in the morning so they are not conditioned for the heat. Also, they don't insist on fluids several hours before. This one parent (who's is in the band) also commented saying "not all the kids in the band are athletes". I chose to remain quiet.

My original thoughts were that the evening games are usually fine but a September afternoon game seems like a tough temperature for football in some areas.

WyMike · #6 (**permalink**) Tue Sep 13, 2005, 10:20am

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisSportsFan
This one parent (who's is in the band) also commented saying "not all the kids in the band are athletes". I chose to remain quiet.

I've heard it said bowlers are athletes, golfers are athletes and even the other evening it was mentioned some poker players consider themselves athletes. But this is the first time I ever heard a band member could be an athlete. I guess all that disciplined marching while mouthing your flute could be considered an aerobic activity, hence the "athlete" gloss.

WM