08/23/24- Additional Clarification and Guidance – WBGT and Fall Competitions

The KMA Sports Medicine Committee held a special meeting on Wednesday, August 21st to review the final pieces of the transition to Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) from the Heat Index as the measurement for when activity should be altered.
While we have thus far been blessed with an abundance of cool days this fall, we know it is still August, and competitions present challenges slightly different than practices as go forward. This has been under near constant review and discussion using the other states (particularly Georgia) that have several years of WBGT experience.

With the full implementation of the Wet Bulb Globe, many schools and officials associations have asked for additional guidance. With those requests in mind, the Sports Medicine Committee considered and recommended approval on specific measurements around competition that may slightly vary from practices. Please be mindful that the data from the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) and collaboration with our Sports Medicine Committee (KMA), National Athletic Training Association (NATA) and Kentucky Athletic Trainers Society (KATS) have been vital resources and much of that contact occurs throughout the year. We continue to rely on each of these groups, especially KSI who clearly are the experts in heat illness awareness and activity alteration strategies.

• The guidance closely primarily aligns with the past practices but breaks them down by the different WBGT color codes, such as:
  • When to recheck WBGT during contests / meets / matches.
  • Recommended and in some cases, requirements around where WBGT measurements are taken.
  • When to take hydration time-outs in each of the fall sports.
  • How long the hydration time-outs are to be when taken, which are shorter in many cases than in past years.

in addition, the guidance spells out options when the WBGT is in the red zone, where in some sports, cancellation was the only option in the past.

Please see the document online at https://ly.khsaa.org/mwmq