Recovery time: Players from Wren High try to cool down after playing in the Palmetto State Showdown at Beech Springs two weeks ago. Players are expected to deal with more heat-related issues when practice begins Friday.
Photo by Mandy Ferguson
Football teams feeling the heat High temps could ground practice
High school football practice is set to start on Friday. If temperatures and humidity combine for a high enough heat index, they could just as quickly come to a stop.
"When the heat index reaches 105 and above, no athletic activities in Greenville County are allowed to take place," said David Webb, Eastside's Head Athletic Trainer. "That's not only for outdoor sports, either. If there is a basketball game going and the air in the gym isn't working, the game will be called off if the index is too high.
"When the index is between 95 and 104, athletes can't wear more than t-shirts, shorts and shoes. Football players can wear helmets and pads when it is between 85-94, but those on the sideline are encouraged to take their helmets off and stay hydrated. Anything less than 80 is fine."
The heat index is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent temperature, how hot it feels, termed the felt air temperature.
The human body normally cools itself by perspiration, or sweating, which evaporates and carries heat away from the body. However, when the relative humidity is high, the evaporation rate is reduced, so heat is removed from the body at a lower rate causing it to retain more heat than it would in dry air.
