Recent sports events have been canceled due to heat waves. Here are some reasons why SHS athletes shouldn’t play in the heat.
Brady Terrell’s reasons why we shouldn’t play in the heat:
- Playing outdoor sports during heat waves could cause someone to have heat strokes, heat exhaustion, dehydration, and heat cramps. You could also fatigue easily and become vulnerable to injuries, including headaches and seizures. Athletes could easily pass out or faint during the middle of a game, which could lead to more injuries.
- If athletes are playing sports like football or soccer, the turf would be very hot, on a 90*F day the turf would be over 160*F Degrees. Turf that is hot could cause blisters on hands and feet, induce dehydration, and don’t forget how bad turf burn is. Just imagine turf burn on 160*F degree turf. And if the heat keeps up the turf could also melt, and that could cause a lot of its own problems. If turf melts and you for some reason swallow it, you could be in trouble. Turf is made with a lot of toxins, and it could only be damaging to someone’s health.
- Sports like track & field, golf, and tennis could also be very dangerous. There are not many ways that heat can make people healthier. Athletes have a high chance of developing heat illness if the temperature is hotter than 82 degrees. It could cause stress to cardiovascular systems, causing damage to the kidneys and the liver. It could also lead to confusion, delirium, and seizures. It’s just all around bad for the body, and there’s a reason that the IHSAA has a limit to what temperature students can play in.
Dylan Dunn’s reasons why we should play in the heat:
A decent number of sporting events, especially high school sports, have been canceled due to high heat. But why? There are multiple reasons as to why we should play in the heat.
- These are athletes who go through extensive conditioning. The whole point of going through any of it is to get the athletes prepared for the season. Especially for outdoor sports, they should be prepared for the heat.
- With today’s technology, there is no reason that athletes should not play in the heat. We have the technology to keep them safe. There are multiple companies that make decent beverages with tons of electrolytes to keep the players going. For example, Gatorade, Body Armor, and Prime are all drink companies that have a very high output of electrolytes.
- According to a study done by John Fawkes, playing in heat strengthens multiple parts of your body. Including the heart and a higher sweat rate. For the heart, it strengthens the left ventricle, so it pumps more blood and faster. It raises the blood plasma level, which keeps the blood from getting too thick. Next, the cell adapts to the heat which helps to better withstand heat stress. It lowers the body’s resting temperature. Since the cells adapt to withstand the heat, bodies now produce less heat. Last but not least, it increases the sweat rate, which just means they sweat earlier. But, sweating earlier is actually a good thing since it cools the body as a cautionary measure instead of waiting for it to become too hot.
You’ve seen the pros and cons of playing sports in heat and not playing in heat. But where do you stand?
