California high schools now have to use special thermometer before canceling games

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Across the state, high school sports now have new rules around heat and outside play.

"Nobody ever wants to miss a game. Nobody ever wants to postpone a practice, but the important thing that we have to keep the forefront is the health and safety of these students, coaches and fans," says Ryan Tos, CIF Central Section Commissioner.

The new CIF guidelines advise schools to move outdoor practices to cooler times, like early morning or late evening. They also require schools to postpone or cancel practice if it gets too hot outside. In the past, each school or district had its own regulations. Now, there is a single standard for all.

"Sometimes, a school would go play over in a different district and they would have different policies, so now the policies are the same," says Tos.

Schools are now required to use this a special thermometer called a Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer. It tracks temperature, wind speed, humidity, sun angle and even cloud cover.

"This is a lot more accurate," says Marr.

Coaches take a reading about 30 minutes before a game or practice and put the data points into a graph that tells them what adjustments to make.

If conditions land them in the red zone, players will need water breaks and outdoor play will be limited to an hour. In the black zone, there is no outdoor play at all. The graphs are unique to the climate of each region of the state.

The Valley is no stranger to heat protocols.

"Anything over 100 degrees, you start to feel it, especially out here on the football field. They've got their helmet on, they've got pads on and it's carrying that extra weight of the equipment also puts a strain on the body," says Brett Marr, Fresno Unified School District Athletic Manager.

Marr says Fresno Unified has had heat safety protocols for about 15 years and has used the devices for a few years already. He's happy to see districts across the state getting on board.

"This is helping out the smaller rural communities, smaller districts that did not have anything in place," says Marr.

Fresno Unified is also looking into possibly permanently installing these devices at several of their stadiums and fields so they can have the data more accessible and at their fingertips.

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