At Valdosta High School, about 20 miles above the Georgia-
Florida line, heat indexes regularly climb above 110 degrees
during the summer. With football camp under way, coaches and
trainers use player-sized refrigerated tubs and coolers loaded
with sports drinks to keep their players cool.

“They’re there in the heat of the day,” said Kevin Weldon, VHS
sports information director. “And it’s getting hot. We took two
to the hospital yesterday.”

That’s where the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index can
help. The index is usually used as a guide to help prevent heat
stroke while at work or during physical exercise, says
www.georgiaweather.net.
The Web site was developed by Gerrit
Hoogenboom, a professor in the University of Georgia Department
of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

“It gives us a measure of the environment to assist us in
determining practice guidelines and parameters for athletes,”
said UGA exercise science professor Mike Ferrara.

Medical issue

Ferrara and fellow athletic trainers monitor the numbers closely
for sports such as football and soccer. The WBGT index is mostly
a medical staff issue, he said.

“Our athletic training staff will work with coaches,” he said.
“Everyone is concerned about the players’ safety.”

“We collect data,” Hoogenboom said of his part in the WBGT
index. “We ask how we can make this useful to people on the
streets. … I’m especially interested in practical
applications and use.”

High school football coaches aren’t the only ones interested in
keeping their people healthy. Hoogenboom’s department was “even
contacted by the Army,” he said. “One of the bases in Atlanta
wanted to link to our Web site. They’re extremely concerned
about the soldiers.”

The index was used during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney,
Australia.

Getting the word out about the system is something Hoogenboom
hopes to do. “We were asked by (UGA head athletic trainer) Ron
Courson to implement this on our Web page,” he said. “They’re
trying to promote the use of this.”

Using the WBGT

The index, at www.georgiaweather.net,
takes a little digging to find. Here’s how.

On the home page is a map of Georgia with more than 60 cities
pinpointed with red dots. Clicking on a certain town opens a new
page. Clicking on current conditions for Valdosta about 3 p.m.
Thursday revealed that the temperature was 95.7 degrees. The
WBGT Index, a few lines below, was at 93 degrees. Clicking the
WBGT Index link reveals that at 90 degrees or above, “physical
training and strenuous exercise should be discontinued for all
persons.”

With football season approaching, this isn’t likely to happen.
What does happen is “if the WBGT index is above a certain level,
we’ll increase the number of breaks and take longer breaks,”
Ferrara said.

In Valdosta, “any time a player feels he is too hot, the trainer
examines them,” Weldon said. “We keep Powerade with the players
at all times.”

Macon’s Stratford Academy, which claimed the Georgia Independent
School Association AAA state football crown last year, takes
summer temperatures seriously, too.

“We’re practicing in mornings,” head football coach Mark Farriba
said. “We don’t go out after 11:30 a.m. We tell the players they
can get water anytime they need it. We talk to them constantly,
making sure they’re drinking the right stuff,” which, for
Stratford, is Gatorade.

“I don’t remember the last time it’s been this hot out there,”
Farriba said. “I come off the field and I’ve got sweat dripping
off clothes.”

And Farriba’s not even running wind sprints.