As another heatwave hits the UK, Bridgend County Borough Council is urging local sports clubs to take extra care and to plan ahead during the hot weather.
It follows advice issued by the likes of the Football Association of Wales and Welsh Rugby Union over concerns that players may suffer from the high temperatures or be injured if playing, exercising or practicing on ground that has been hardened by the sun and a lack of rain.
Guidance issued to clubs, coaches, match officials, volunteers and players includes checking Met Office weather forecasts ahead of any planned matches, training sessions or other activities, and ensuring that fresh water, sunscreen and shaded areas such as gazebos or stands are available.
With reminders issued to players, spectators and parents about basic sun safety measures, clubs have been advised to keep warm-up sessions suitably brief, to increase rest intervals and cooling breaks, to make greater use of rolling subs, to remain alert for any signs of heat stress among players, and to consider moving sessions to cooler parts of the day.
FA Wales have also advised sports clubs to observe the following threshold temperatures:
- 30°C: Stop junior activity and impose strict controls for adult activity
- 27°C – 29°C: Implement mandatory cooling breaks, reduced intensity, shade and monitoring
- 24°C – 26°C:Place greater focus on hydration focus and reduced loads
- -24°C: Apply standard precautions
With an amber extreme heat warning in place for much of the UK and local temperatures forecast to hit as high as 33 degrees, we are urging local sports clubs to plan ahead, and to take appropriate actions and precautions. In addition to health concerns over high temperatures, in many cases the heat has caused the ground at local sports fields and pitches to become very hard, so please take care if engaging in any sports or training activities. Player welfare has to come first, and it is good to see that organisations such as FA Wales and WRU are prioritising this and are issuing guidance to local clubs.
