On this page · 8 sections
What does the WVSSAC require?
The policy sets out required practices for WVSSAC member schools to prevent, monitor and treat exertional heat illness. It covers every practice and conditioning session where heat illness poses a risk — in season, out of season and in summer, outdoors and indoors. The WVSSAC Board of Directors approved it on May 17, 2022, on the Sports Medicine Committee’s recommendation; the current version was revised in spring 2024.
Monitoring starts at the beginning of each practice or conditioning session and continues every 30 minutes, using a Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer (WBGT) device. Each reading is recorded, on paper or stored in the device, and the activity is modified to match the band it falls in.
Reading cadence
At the start of every practice or conditioning session, then every 30 minutes during the activity.
Records
Every reading is recorded, either in a hard copy or stored in the WBGT device.
Cooling zone
Designated at each practice site, with a cold-water immersion tub and ice-cold towels for the head and neck.
Football acclimatization
Days 1–2 helmets only, days 3–4 helmet and shoulder pads, day 5 full pads with soft-equipment contact, day 6 full contact.
The WVSSAC WBGT threshold table
Five bands, read in degrees Fahrenheit from the WBGT device: one table for the whole state. The row colour follows the Flash alert scale your athletic trainers already see in the app.
| WBGT (°F) | Activity limit | Rest breaks | Football equipment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 82.0 | Normal activities | Provide at least three separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of three minutes each during the workout | None listed |
| 82.0 – 86.9 | Use discretion for intense of prolonged exercise; watch at-risk players carefully | Provide at least three separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 4 minutes each | None listed |
| 87.0 – 89.9 | Maximum practice time is 2 hours | For all sports: provide at least four separate rest breaks each hour with a minimum duration of 4 minutes each | Players are restricted to helmet, shoulder pads, and shorts during practice, and all protective equipment must be removed during conditioning activities |
| 90.0 – 92.0 | Maximum practice time is 1 hour | For all sports: there must be 20 minutes of rest breaks distributed throughout the hour of practice | No protective equipment may be worn during practice, and there may be no conditioning activities |
| Over 92.0 | No outdoor workouts. Delay practice until a cooler WBGT level is reached | — | — |
Source: WVSSAC Heat Acclimatization and Heat Illness Policy and Procedures, Activity Guidelines/Modifications chart (wvssac.org, revised spring 2024), checked 15 Oct 2026. Ranges and wording as printed. If the WBGT rises into 87.0–89.9 during practice, football players may continue to work out wearing football pants without changing to shorts.
Where does Flash fit?
Flash is a forecast for planning, not an on-site meter: WVSSAC compliance uses the WBGT reading your school takes at the start of practice and every 30 minutes after. Flash's 6-hour WBGT outlook tells you at 1 pm what the 4 pm reading is likely to be, so you can move practice instead of cancelling it.
Heat: plan, don't cancel
The outlook runs per field for every hour of the afternoon, against the five WVSSAC bands. Shift the start, swap the equipment plan or go indoors before the cars arrive.
Lightning: up to 60 minutes ahead
Strike-level prediction on a 1×1 km cell, refreshed every 2 minutes. Up to 99.6% lightning prediction accuracy on a one-hour window, measured against NLDN ground-truth strikes — method published.
Accuracy methodReturn to play: the all-clear timer
After the last strike inside your radius, Flash runs your policy's all-clear timer and logs it, so play resumes on evidence.
Weather Command Center
Flash Heat and WBGT prediction 6-hour WBGT outlook, heat index, air temperature and dew point per 1×1 km cell
What does a planning day look like?
Illustrative example · Not live weather — the readings are examples, the rules are the WVSSAC's
6:30 pm · The reading that decides the day
The band you land in at the start of practice sets the clock, the breaks and the pads.
Flash 6-hour WBGT outlook for the practice field: 84 by 3 pm, into 87.0–89.9 by 4 pm. The athletic director flags the football session.
Decision: run at 4 pm under the 2-hour cap with four 4-minute breaks an hour and football in helmet, shoulder pads and shorts, or push to 6:30 pm. The AD pushes. The bus, the trainers and the parents hear now, not at 3:45.
WBGT reading at the start of practice: 83.4, the 82.0–86.9 band. Three 4-minute breaks per hour go on the plan, the cooling zone is ready and the reading is recorded. The next one is due at 7:00.
Flash lightning alert: a strike is predicted inside the site radius within the next 60 minutes. The field clears.
Last strike inside the radius. Flash starts the all-clear timer.
All clear. Practice resumes with a fresh WBGT reading; the alert log records who was warned, when, and when play returned.
What should the athletic director keep on file?
The policy has every WBGT reading recorded and asks schools to review it each year with all appropriate school personnel. Keep these together so a question from the WVSSAC, the county or a parent is answered from one folder.
- WBGT readings with times — at the start of every practice or conditioning session, then every 30 minutes — on paper or stored in the device.
- The band each reading fell in and the decision it triggered: practice length, rest breaks, football equipment.
- Notes of student-athletes with pre-existing conditions that raise their heat-illness risk, shared with their coaches.
- The cooling-zone setup for each practice site and the emergency plan for suspected exertional heat stroke.
- The Flash alert log: lightning alerts, who was notified, the all-clear, and the 6-hour outlook the schedule decision was based on.
Which other states publish WBGT policies?
Every state page follows this template: verified thresholds, the reading cadence, what to keep on file, and where the WBGT forecast fits.
State by state
Same instrument, different bands — the WBGT forecast travels with you.
- Georgia (GHSA)
- Texas (UIL)
- Florida (FHSAA)
- Arizona (AIA)
- Arkansas (AAA)
- Colorado (CHSAA)
- Hawaii (HHSAA)
- Illinois (IHSA)
- Kansas (KSHSAA)
- Massachusetts (MIAA)
- Mississippi (MHSAA)
- Missouri (MSHSAA)
- Nevada (NIAA)
- New Hampshire (NHIAA)
- New Mexico (NMAA)
- North Carolina (NCHSAA)
- Ohio (OHSAA)
- Oklahoma (OSSAA)
- Alabama (AHSAA)
- California (CIF)
- Connecticut (CIAC)
- Iowa (IHSAA / IGHSAU)
- Kentucky (KHSAA)
- Louisiana (LHSAA)
- Minnesota (MSHSL)
- Nebraska (NSAA)
- New Jersey (NJSIAA)
- New York (NYSPHSAA)
- South Carolina (SCHSL)
- South Dakota (SDHSAA)
- Utah (UHSAA)
- Vermont (VPA)
- Virginia (VHSL)
- Washington (WIAA)
- Wisconsin (WIAA)
Sources
- WVSSAC — Heat Acclimatization and Heat Illness Policy and Procedures, approved May 17, 2022, revised spring 2024. WBGT chart, monitoring, acclimatization, cooling zone. Checked 15 Oct 2026.assets-rst7.rschooltoday.com/rst7files/uploads/sites/588/2026/07/01112737/WVSSAC-Heat-Acclimatization-and-Heat-Illness-Policy-and-Procedures.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- WVSSAC — Sports Medicine Packet 2026-2027. Heat acclimatization and heat illness reminder, required coach courses. Checked 15 Oct 2026.assets-rst7.rschooltoday.com/rst7files/uploads/sites/588/2026/07/30104236/Sports-Medicine-Packet-26-27.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- WVSSAC — Sports Medicine resources page. Checked 15 Oct 2026.wvssac.org/sports-medicine/ (opens in a new tab)
WVSSAC documents are published at wvssac.org (opens in a new tab).
Frequently asked
No. WVSSAC compliance is decided by the reading from the WBGT device at the start of practice and every 30 minutes after. Flash's 6-hour outlook tells you where that reading is heading — a scheduling tool, not a compliance instrument.
At the beginning of each practice or conditioning session, then every 30 minutes during the activity. Each reading is recorded, either in a hard copy or stored in the device.
Yes. It applies to all practice and conditioning activities in which heat illness poses a risk — in season, out of season and summer, both outdoor and indoor.
The chart is written for practice. For competitions, the WVSSAC recommends taking every step to reduce risk, such as moving start times, more frequent and longer breaks, more water breaks, and more shade and fans.