Fred Mueller, a professor of exercise and sports medicine at the University of North Carolina compiles a list of boys who died playing or practicing football. Most of these deaths are heat related as their body temperatures rose so high and so fast that their bodies could not regulate these extreme temperatures, and the students died. This is a tragic and sad situation as it does not have to be so. With caution and prevention, we can prevent more children dying from excessive heat with the necessary guidelines for coaches and schools to ensure that their children are protected from over-exposure.
Shade structures added to the advise listed below, will help to minimize this risk for children. Shade structures are a sure way of providing an oasis from the heat during breaks. See our various models at www.shade4schools.com , and although we do not feature an installation for football fields we are receiving more interest daily on the possiblities of protecting boys during their practice breaks on the field. By attaching various models alongside each other we are able to create a continuous shade shelter where boys can cool down their body temperatures, rest awhile before going back on the field.
Heat-related deaths can be prevented by;-
*Ensuring all athletes undergo regular physicals, and being aware that your overweight players are more at risk and will require more care;
*Build an acclimatizing schedule into the practice program, by allowing players to practice without their football uniforms for the first week.
*Alter practice schedules and break up workouts, routines could be done under shade structures for the first weeks before going out in full sun.
* Ensure adequate water supplies to keep players hydrated.
* Provide shaded rest areas, where players may remove outer clothing to cool down.
* Understand the symptons to detect early signals of heat illness. Some early signals include nausea, incoherence, fatigue, weakness, vomiting, muscle cramps, weak rapid pulse, visual disturbance.
* Have an emergency plan in place.
The Annual survey of football injuries is conducted each year, and 2006 recorded a total of 20 deaths, with 13 of these being middle and high schoolers. Heat related injuries are preventable and can be reduced drastically by providing shade structures on your football fields for players. Use Shade4Schools program to fundraise to ensure your children are adequately protected during practice and rest breaks.
Climate change affects another social behavior, this time its school schedules. August saw a trend of many school districts closing early or changing school schedules to curtail the heat. Some schools even canceled recesses to avoid children having to play outdoors due to soaring temperatures. As the heat goes up we are seeing more and more schools opt to use our shade structures to cover their playgrounds to enable their children to have more outdoor play. Further, shade structures may have water misters affixed to them which gives the children more relief and more fun in the shade.
To ensure that schools are aware of whta the heat and humidity is outdoors, the National Weather Services issues excessive heat warnings and schools are advised to check out your local temperatures before allowing children to be exposed. Go to our website www.shade4schools.com to learn how you can protect your children, while affording them that critical exercise time outdoors.
Shade4Schools Fundraising program has been featured in this month’s Education Grants Alert newsletter. Education Grants Alert is a weekly report on funding opportunities for K-12 programs, and is circulated to all schools in the country.
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The full page article showcased various fundraising ideas, using the product as a creative twist to traditional fundraising, and encourages schools to use different tools to canvass more parental and student support. Shade4Schools is highlighted in the article, with a view of educating PTA/PTO’s on the concept of raising funds through donation based programs. The structure of the fundraiser allows for shorter timelines and no investment at the outset. Other fundraising ideas in the article discussed using the cookie dough concept by introducing a healthier cookie alternative, which would also garner more support from parent bodies. For more information on fundraising ideas contact info@shade4schools.com.
In May this year, Wisconsin launched a state wide effort to make their state a “SunWise State”. More than 400 health educators received the SunWise Tool Kit with lessons plans and activities to learn about sun safety. Elizabether Burmaster the State Superintendent stated that they were excited about becoming a SunWise state because the program is fun and interactive teaches children and their families to protect themselves from harmful uv radiation, even on cloudy days. Children need physical activities to remain healthy and need to be outdoors. Schools can use shade structures to protect children while at play, visit www.shade4schools.com to learn how your school may be SunWise by integrating sunwise education into your curricula and access shade structures to protect children from uv rays of the sun.
Schools are encouraged to use The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, SunWise program to teach children about sun safety. With over 20,000 educators registered to use this program it is the most widely-used health education program in the United States. For more information about SunWise, visit www.epa.gov/sunwise.
