Most Central Florida schools will feel extreme heat on the first day of school this week. Sports teams at Seminole County Public Schools are constantly monitoring temperatures to see if it is safe to practice. Schools use a wet bulb globe thermometer that combines the actual temperature reading with the temperature of the black bulb and humidity. “If we get to 92 on the wet bulb, we’re done. Everything’s over with,” said Coach Jay Getty. Getty is Hagerty High School’s longtime athletic director. He said he has not seen a season quite like this. “This is the warmest season so far. 33 in a row,” he said. Getty is staying on top of his cross-country runners, preaching that preparation starts before they hit the track. “Hydration starts the day prior,” he said. “The more hydrated they can be during the day, the better their performance and the less likely they are to have any heat-related issues.”As his team logs their miles, Getty is watching his athletes to see if they are flushed, dizzy or lethargic. “Some kids are my typical top kids. When they’re in the middle, those are kind of quick indicators to say, ‘Hey, how’s your day going?’” he said. If it ever came to it, schools have emergency kits to treat athletes with heat issues. “We’ve got towels. We’ve got tarps. We’ve got bungee cords,” Getty said. Getty explained that if someone needs help, they can wrap someone up in a tarp to make a cooldown cocoon. “We’ve got the ice coming out of one cooler. We’ve got water to add to it so we can make a nice little environment for them to drop that temperature down as fast soon as possible,” he said. They also have cold water immersion tubs on campus. If they ever had to use those methods, Getty said that would mean a straight call to 911. “All of our athletes take the same courses that our coaches do. It is through the National Federation of High Schools. That is the Heat Illness Prevention Course,” he said. “So that when you have two people that can recognize the signs, hopefully, you can identify that kid a little faster that may need a little extra assistance.”Marion County Public Schools have safety protocols, too, like the ‘weigh in, weigh out’ procedure for football players. “They weigh in at the beginning of the practice. They weigh out at the end. And if they’ve lost more than 3% of their total body weight, they don’t practice again until that weight is regained,” said district spokesperson Kevin Christian. “When it feels like 115 degrees outside, you have to take it seriously. We don’t want any of our students suffering from heat fatigue or heat stroke or anything of that nature.”From the field to the classroom, Seminole County Public Schools spokesperson Katherine Crnkovich said they are monitoring when recess needs to be moved inside. “I think the most important thing is just making sure that all of our AC systems are up and running and that our bus air conditioning systems are ready,” she said. “It’s very, very hot. But we’re going to make do with that. And we’re very excited to welcome our kiddos back on our campus.”Headlines Listen to news and weather headlines with the WESH 2 podcastDeputies: Passenger arrested after pointing gun, pulling trigger at Central Florida Lyft driver’s headDCF called on Florida couple after daughter’s birthmarks mistaken for bruises
Most Central Florida schools will feel extreme heat on the first day of school this week.
Sports teams at Seminole County Public Schools are constantly monitoring temperatures to see if it is safe to practice. Schools use a wet bulb globe thermometer that combines the actual temperature reading with the temperature of the black bulb and humidity.
“If we get to 92 [degrees] on the wet bulb, we’re done. Everything’s over with,” said Coach Jay Getty.
Getty is Hagerty High School’s longtime athletic director. He said he has not seen a season quite like this.
“This is the warmest season so far. 33 in a row,” he said.
Getty is staying on top of his cross-country runners, preaching that preparation starts before they hit the track.
“Hydration starts the day prior,” he said. “The more hydrated they can be during the day, the better their performance and the less likely they are to have any heat-related issues.”
As his team logs their miles, Getty is watching his athletes to see if they are flushed, dizzy or lethargic.
“Some kids are my typical top kids. When they’re in the middle, those are kind of quick indicators to say, ‘Hey, how’s your day going?’” he said.
If it ever came to it, schools have emergency kits to treat athletes with heat issues.
“We’ve got towels. We’ve got tarps. We’ve got bungee cords,” Getty said.
Getty explained that if someone needs help, they can wrap someone up in a tarp to make a cooldown cocoon.
“We’ve got the ice coming out of one cooler. We’ve got water to add to it so we can make a nice little environment for them to drop that temperature down as fast soon as possible,” he said.
They also have cold water immersion tubs on campus. If they ever had to use those methods, Getty said that would mean a straight call to 911.
“All of our athletes take the same courses that our coaches do. It is through the National Federation of High Schools. That is the Heat Illness Prevention Course,” he said. “So that when you have two people that can recognize the signs, hopefully, you can identify that kid a little faster that may need a little extra assistance.”
Marion County Public Schools have safety protocols, too, like the ‘weigh in, weigh out’ procedure for football players.
“They weigh in at the beginning of the practice. They weigh out at the end. And if they’ve lost more than 3% of their total body weight, they don’t practice again until that weight is regained,” said district spokesperson Kevin Christian. “When it feels like 115 degrees outside, you have to take it seriously. We don’t want any of our students suffering from heat fatigue or heat stroke or anything of that nature.”
From the field to the classroom, Seminole County Public Schools spokesperson Katherine Crnkovich said they are monitoring when recess needs to be moved inside.
“I think the most important thing is just making sure that all of our AC systems are up and running and that our bus air conditioning systems are ready,” she said. “It’s very, very hot. But we’re going to make do with that. And we’re very excited to welcome our kiddos back on our campus.”
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