Heat-stroke awareness is hot topic for fall Arizona high school sports
Aug 5, 2013, 7:15 AM | Updated: 7:16 am
PHOENIX — Tens of thousands of high school athletes are in summer training under some of the harshest weather conditions in the nation.
Arizona’s football, soccer and cross country athletes are prepping for fall competition, all the while dealing with triple-digit temperatures and monsoon humidity. Charles Schmidt with the Arizona Interscholastic Association said there is a history of keeping high school athletes safe in the heat.
“Primarily, the elephant in the room is football. There’s a period of time where they won’t use pads to allow the conditioning to occur. No two-a-days. We have done a great job through our coaches to ensure the athletes’ health and safety.”
Football players are 11 times more likely to suffer heat- related illnesses than all other high school sports combined, according to a recent University of North Carolina study.