Weather Safety for Youth Sports and Sports Complexes
Why is Weather Safety for Youth Sports and Sports Complexes Important?
Protecting young athletes from the risks of severe weather during sporting events is imperative to their health and safety. There are many forms of severe weather risks for youth sports, ranging from exhaustion due to heat stress to injury from a lightning strike. Knowing when to clear the fields is essential to protecting the safety of the kids and spectators alike. Earth Networks offers a variety of severe weather solutions to protect young athletes from various weather extremes. Sports complexes also benefit from severe weather protection, as many youth sports events and practices are held on natural grass or turf fields, as well as outdoor basketball or volleyball courts. Keep reading to learn ways to improve your organization’s weather safety for youth sports.
Which types of sports could benefit from Earth Networks’ weather safety solutions for youth sports activities?
Outdoor sports expose youth athletes to the elements for hours at a time. Popular youth sports activities include little league baseball, soccer, softball, football, swim team, lacrosse, etc. These are the types of organized sports that would benefit from Earth Networks’ weather solutions for youth sports and sports complexes.
Recreational sports professionals, coaches, team leaders, and operational and safety personnel have a goal to provide a fun, safe, and healthy environment for a wide variety of youth sports activities. However, severe weather can get in the way of that goal.
Earth Networks provides a variety of severe weather intelligence products and services to ensure that your youth sports operations run smoothly and keep athletes and spectators safe.
Our custom technology solutions will help you improve weather safety for your youth sports team by:
- Protecting and alerting athletes, visitors, and staff about dangerous weather
- Eliminating stress around weather-related decisions by letting the weather technology make the decision to postpone, delay, move or cancel practices and games
- Tracking weather and environmental factors that can interfere with outdoor activities
How can you keep youth sports athletes safe with severe weather safety solutions?
Players on youth sports teams should adhere to safety guidelines and best practices for protecting athletes from extreme weather. The YMCA has a comprehensive list of outdoor sports hot and cold weather guidelines for sports games and practices.
Some methods for protecting student athletes from the risks of severe weather include:
- Clearing fields when sirens warn of lightning, tornadoes, or dangerous weather approaching
- Drinking plenty of water before, during, and after practice or games
- Wearing protective sunscreen to protect from sun and UV rays
- Using immersion tubs to cool down athletes
- Dressing appropriately for weather temperatures and conditions
Case Studies: Weather Safety for Youth Sports and Sports Complexes
The Maryland Soccerplex uses Earth Networks’ Lightning and Se
vere Weather Alerting System to keep athletes safe. The Maryland Soccerplex opened in 2000 with 19 full sized irrigated soccer fields, each measuring 115 x 75 years with berms ideal for spectator seating. The SoccerPlex added 3 lighted synthetic turf fields in 2008. A main attraction of the SoccerPlex is the Championship Stadium, which seats 4,000 spectators. Overall, the Maryland SoccerPlex welcomes more than 1 million visitors a year, hence its need for ultimate athlete and spectator safety. To read more about Earth Networks’ services for the Maryland Soccerplex, read the case study.
Solutions: Weather Safety for Youth Sports
Provide maximum weather safety for youth sports with Sferic Siren Lightning Horn
Outdoor facilities and sports complexes can benefit from Earth Networks’ Sferic Siren Lightning Horns for many reasons. Parks and outdoor facilities all over the US count on our Sferic Siren to mitigate risk, standardize alerts. and manage their outdoor activities. For youth sports activities, a Sferic Siren will alert players, coaches, referees, and spectators when it is time to clear the field and seek shelter from dangerous weather.
The best lightning alerting systems aim to automate safety decisions by leveraging best-in-class lightning detection technology. For youth sports and sports complexes, the objective of Earth Network’s weather technology is to:
◘ Protect and inform players, staff, members, and patrons about dangerous weather
◘ Automatically clear outdoor areas when lightning approaches
◘ Monitor environmental factors that can affect grounds keeping activities on the fields and courts
Monitor Oncoming Severe Weather with Sferic Maps
Earth Networks’ Sferic Maps is a collaborative web-based weather visualization and alerting tool. Sferic Maps provides real-time weather alerts and situational awareness to help manage youth sports operations. Coaches, sports team coordinators, and sports complex staff will be able to improve weather-related decision making for youth sports teams with Sferic Maps software. This tool will mitigate uncertainty surrounding game and practice cancellation, by combining the best of Earth Networks patented weather and lightning observation metrics with powerful data representation, visualization and alerting capabilities. The effective use of Sferic Maps allows for precise practice and game-day planning around dangerous weather.
If your youth sports organization or sports complex could benefit from Sferic Maps, request your free Sferic Maps demo today.
Forecast Advice for Youth Sports Weather Safety: 24/7 Meteorological Services
Earth Networks provides around the clock guidance from trusted experts in the weather field, to help your youth sports organizations make informed, safe decisions.
We know that weather impacts the cost of doing business. Youth sports teams and recreation organizations rely on our team of expert weather data scientists to help make the best possible operational weather-influenced decisions.
What do you get with our 24/7 Meteorological Services team?
- Tailored forecasts for your youth sports leagues needs
- Request meteorology support for one-time events or recurring series, i.e. practice and game-day forecasts
- Enjoy peace of mind knowing a professional meteorologist is on call for you 24/7
Heat Stress: Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Forecast for Youth Sports Weather Safety
WBGT forecasts are an excellent tool for monitoring heat safety for athletes participating in youth sports. When the WBGT surpasses the maximum heat stress levels that are safe for outdoor practice and games, youth sports teams will know when to cancel practice or games. The use of WBGT monitoring is valuable for sports complexes by keeping players and spectators safe from heat illness. The WBGT forecast can help you plan outdoor activities while being cognizant of safe temperatures and sun exposure.
The WBGT Forecast is available in the Online Weather Center, and is accessible to be enabled via Sferic Maps. Check out Earth Network’s Heat Safety Packages to learn more.
Our mission is to provide weather data insights that drive critical action. To learn more about Earth Networks’ weather safety solutions, feel free to contact us below.
