Hot-Weather Practice Information On MHSAA Web Site
MHSAA Reporting
EAST LANSING, Mich. – July 26 – With the beginning of pre-season practices less than two weeks away for high school sports teams in Michigan, concerns about physical activity in hot and humid conditions rise, and the Michigan High School Athletic Association continues its role in providing its member schools educational information to assist them in minimizing the possibility of heat-related catastrophic injuries to student-athletes.
The topic of heat-related injuries receives a lot of attention at this time of year, especially when deaths at the professional, collegiate and interscholastic levels of sport occur. In football, data from the National Federation of State High School Associations shows that 19 high school football players have died from heat stroke from 1995 to 2005.
Each Spring, the MHSAA has provided information to its member schools to help them prepare for hot weather practice and game conditions in the late Summer and early Fall. Football practice begins at MHSAA member schools on August 6, followed by boys golf on August 9 and all other Fall sports on August 13.
"Heat Stress & Athletic Participation" is information from the National Federation of State High School Associations which the MHSAA makes available on its Web site for use by all Fall sports teams. The information points out that student-athletes are subject to a variety of maladies from heat cramps to heat strokes at this time of year. Preventative steps are outlined, including hydration guidelines about what to drink and what not to drink. A copy of the information is available on the MHSAA Web site – http://www.mhsaa.com/resources/conditioning.pdf.
“If schools and their student-athletes follow these guidelines, then we minimize the risk for heat-related problems.,” said John R. Johnson, communications director for the MHSAA. “The hydration of athletes is essential. It is an absolute necessity that water be available in unlimited quantities at all times during practices. At the same time, coaching staffs need to be tuned into their student-athletes and be sure they are partaking of water. There is no excuse for any number of heat stroke deaths since they are all preventable with the proper precautions.”
Johnson added that as student-athletes work out on their own individually or with a group of teammates in informal settings during the Summer, they also need to be aware of their hydration.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,600 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.
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