Fairfax County Schools Guidelines For Football And Heat Stress

Please note: Fluid recommendations made for US football are based on the assumption that players are the size of adult males. Fluid intake must be carefully balanced against fluid losses to avoid both dehydration (which is very common) and over-hydration and hyponatremia (which are uncommon, but can pose very serious problems).

The schools of the Fairfax County, Virginia, school system (student population ~160,000) have adopted a formal set of heat stress guidelines for football practice. Here is the 2003 version of those guidelines. These guidelines are based on Wet Bulb temperature (WB), but the expected WBGT's have been added to them.

[WBGT<=60] WB<=60°F    Duration of practice: 2 hours; Attire: Full gear; Fluid consumption: Insist that adequate water be ingested, do not restrict water consumption.

[WBGT 60-69°F] WB = 60.1-65.9    Duration of practice: 2 hours; Attire: Full gear; Fluid consumption: Insist that adequate water be ingested, >= 2 water breaks/hour.

[WBGT 69-82.9°F] WB = 66-74.9    Duration of practice: 2 hours; Attire: Full gear; Fluid consumption: Insist that 4-6 oz. minimum water be ingested every 20 min, >=3 water breaks/hour.

[WBGT 83-84.9°F] WB = 75-76.9    Duration of practice: 2 hours: 45 min work, >15 min rest each hour; Attire: Remove helmets unless active in drill; Fluid consumption: Insist that 6 oz. minimum water be ingested every 20 min, >=3 water breaks/hour.

[WBGT 85-87.9°F] WB = 77-78.9    Duration of practice: 2 hours: 45 min work, >15 min rest each hour;   Attire: Remove protective equipment for non-contact drills; Fluid consumption: Insist that 8-10 oz minimum water be ingested every 20 min, >= 3 water breaks/hour.

[WBGT 88-89.9°F] WB = 79-80.9    Duration of practice: 2 hours: 45 min work, >15 min rest each hour; Attire: Shirt, shorts only. No helmets; Water consumption: Insist that 8-10 oz. minimum water be ingested every 20 min., >=3 water breaks/hour.

[WBGT >=90°F]  WB >=81    No Practice.

Additional hazards:

Full Uniform - Any relative humidity >52.9% with Dry Bulb temperature >60°F may be hazardous.

Partial uniform with shorts instead of padded pants - Any Dry Bulb temperature + relative humidity >144.9 may be hazardous.