OUTSTANDING EDUCATION AND PROMOTION OF SAFE SPORT PRACTICES (STATEWIDE)
BRONZE
Football NSW
Hot Weather Policy
Although football is predominantly a winter sport, it is played all year round with the professional Premier League season in Australia in full swing during the height of summer.
Football NSW have developed a policy following research into the effects of hot weather on players that recommendeds play or training cancellation temperatures of 32 degrees for children and 37 degrees for adults.
Prior to the development of this new policy games and training were going ahead in increasingly hot weather conditions with Football NSW confirming many players reporting they experienced the effects of heat stress.
The policy highlights the importance of monitoring hot weather conditions and requests that clubs, associations, branches, futsal and referees give priority consideration to play safety and welfare in hot conditions above thirty degrees celcius.
As well as temperature guides, the policy provides common-sense advice on how to reduce the impact of heat stress such as scheduling games and training in cooler times of the day, regular hydration, sun protection, continual monitoring of conditions and the wellbeing of participants and ensuring regular rest breaks.
The policy also includes links guidance material from its website such as facts sheets from Sports Medicine Australia's Hot Weather Guidelines and SunSmart's Beat the Heat and UV Exposure Guide.
The comprehensive policy has been instrumental in giving staff, competition organisers, clubs and associations a clear indicator for when it is viable to cancel games and training sessions in hot weather. The policy has been distributed throughout the state and allows NSW Football affiliates will be well informed to make safe decisions for players while confidently identifying heat risks.
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