With the temperatures expected to hit 100 this week and heat indexes to be even higher, football players and other high school athletes won’t be having outdoor football practice unless it’s extremely early or extremely late.
These measures are in place to help protect students from heat-related illnesses such as heat strokes.
Public high school are required to have a wet globe temperature monitor. According to the National Weather Service, “The WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, which takes into account: temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover (solar radiation). This differs from the heat index, which takes into consideration temperature and humidity and is calculated for shady areas. If you work or exercise in direct sunlight, this is a good element to monitor. Military agencies, OSHA and many nations use the WBGT as a guide to managing workload in direct sunlight.”
A WBGT reading of 82-86.0 means that intense exercise is at the discretion of the coaches and requires three rest periods per hour.
A WBGT reading of 87.0-89.9 means that players restricted to helmets, shoulder A pads, and shorts and cannot practice for more than two hours.
A WBGT reading of 90.0-92.0 means that players cannot practice for more than one hour with no protective equipment. It also requires a 20 minute rest period.
This is the pre-season practice plan issued by the S.C. High School Football League:
Long Day / Short Day
South Carolina High School Football Pre-Season Practice Plan
(Endorsed by SCATA, Ad Hoc SCHSL Preseason Acclimatization Committee)
BACKGROUND: In the summer of 2009 the Inter-association Task Force for Preseason Secondary School Athletics* recommended preseason heat-acclimatization guidelines for secondary school athletic programs to minimize the risk of heat illness during preseason football practice.
PURPOSE: The intent of the following “exposure-based proposal” is to promote an acclimatization and recovery model for SCHSL football consistent with the Inter-association Task Force guidelines that also allows coaches to appropriately prepare their teams and fits into the current SCHSL’s preseason football schedule.
PRACTICE TIMELINE:
* Days 1-2: 3 hours of Practice in Helmet and Shorts
Divide the time to best benefit your program
* Days 3-4: 3 hours of Practice in Helmet and Shoulder pads permitted
Contact with shields, dummies, and sleds permitted
Divide the time to best benefit your program
*Note: Shoulder pads are not permitted before Monday, August 4, 2025. All restrictions on dummies and shields apply until this date.
* Day 5: 3 hours of Full Contact Practice in Full Gear permitted
Divide the time to best benefit your program
* Days 6-14: Full Contact Practice in Full Gear permitted
Must alternate days Long Practice Day and Short Practice Day
* Long Day: 5 hours of practice permitted
Divide the time to best benefit your program
▪ Practices must be separated by 2-hours of continuous rest
Long Day can follow a Rest Day (even if the day before the Rest Day was Long Day)
Short Day: 3 hours of practice permitted
Divide the time to best benefit your program
* Days 15+: Full Contact Practice in Full Gear permitted
No restrictions on practice
NOTES:
First practice permitted: Thursday, July 31, 2025.
• Practice is defined as a period of time a participant engages in a coach-supervised, school-approved, sport or conditioning-related physical activity.
• Practice times (including warm-up, stretching, cool-down time, conditioning) shall not exceed 3 hours.
• Three days between scrimmages and jamborees.
* All practices occurring Days 1-14 must be documented to show compliance.
* All athletes must complete Days 1-4 of the practice timelines before participation in full pads.
• Weight room activities do not count as practice time but must be separated from practice by at least 2 hours of continuous rest to allow for recovery.
Exception: No continuous rest period is required if weight room activities are counted as a part of the day’s allotted practice time. (i.e. lift for 1 hour then practice for 2 hours; or practice for 2 hours and then lift for 1 hour)
A Walk-through is allowed and does not count against practice time. Walk-through is defined as a teaching opportunity with athletes:
not wearing protective equipment
not using sports-related equipment
participating in an indoor, climate-controlled environment.
• Must have a Rest Day after 6 consecutive practice days.
Scrimmages are permitted on either a Long Day or Short Day. A scrimmage will count as 3hours.
• All athletes must have a pre-participation physical exam before athletic participation.
If weather/lightning postpones practice in progress, the practice may resume after a warm-up (20 minute maximum) and the remainder of allotted practice time may be completed.
*Inter-association Task Force includes – Gatorade Sports Science, Amer. College of Sports Med., NATA, NSCA, US Army Research institute, Amer.Orthopaedic Society for Sports Med., Amer. Medical Society for Sports Med., Amer. Academy of Pediatrics*
Here are the heat and acclimations rules in detail from the S.C. High School League website (https://schsl.org/archives/11549):
