While many casual observers may not understand the differences, football, band and swim practices in 94° F heat are three very different situations , all dangerous— with swim presenting life threatening risk because 90% of your body is submerged in 100% humidity. This primarily relates to sweating, the main mechanism the body uses to regulate its temperature. In air, sweat is able to evaporate, which allows the body to lose heat and stay cool. However, water acts as an insulator. So, when swimmers are training hard in a pool that is too warm, not only is the swimmer’s body unable to lose heat and cool itself, but the water also elevates the swimmer’s core temperature, causing an encapsulation of heat. This can lead to life-threatening consequences — ones that are particularly troubling when young student-athletes are involved.

As a case in point, this past summer, our Enterprise High School swim team had mandatory practice in water temperatures of 90° F and above. The student-athletes on the team were also told that “as long as the water temperature didn’t rise above their body temperature” they would be just fine — and despite airing their concerns about the heat, to just keep swimming. Team members’ complaints of feeling ill after high levels of physical exertion in this pool temperature were called “obnoxious,” and children were punished for simply expressing their unease with the situation. Swimmers were also not allowed to take a break or get out of the pool to cool off. Numerous swimmers were forced to make a choice — either continue to practice in these unsafe temperatures or leave the team. 

Every attempt to alert coaches and administrators to the dangers of practicing in these conditions seemed to make things worse for the swimmers, largely because the NFHS has only “recommendations” rather than enforceable rules in place to prevent such dangerous circumstances. And to hammer the importance of the situation home, the next day in the state of Alabama, Dimitri McKee, a football player in Montgomery, collapsed at his football practice and eventually died from a heatstroke. That same day, two coaches from the state of Georgia were indicted for a student’s heatstroke death.

Marking one of athletics’ most prominent heatstroke deaths, in 2010, highly awarded U.S. long-distance swimmer Fran Crippen died at age 26 during a swimming race in 87-degree waters.

Several of the  EnterpriseHigh School parents would like to see high school associations across the United States implement stricter rules pertaining to hot temperatures during swim practice and all other sports’ practices, plus hold coaches accountable for such actions that endanger athletes. We would like to see specific temperature rules put in place, to include requiring numerous safety measures when a team has to practice in hot temperatures, such as having an ice bath available or having a medical technician on hand. Further, no practice should take place when the air and water temperature is above a certain level.

One death in dangerous temperatures is one too many.

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