Real-World Strategies for Monitoring, Compliance, and Protecting Athletes from Heat Stress
As school sports ramp up across Illinois, athletic trainers are preparing for more than just playbooks and practices—they’re preparing for heat. With the Illinois High School Association’s (IHSA) wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) policy fully in effect, schools across the state are working to ensure their athletes stay safe under rising summer temperatures.
To help athletic trainers navigate these changes, we hosted a live webinar featuring Chris Murphy, Head Athletic Trainer at Glenbard East High School and a long-time member of the IHSA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. He was joined by Spencer Patton and Blake Harvey from Perry Weather to share real-world insights and strategies for schools across Illinois.
Together, they broke down how to understand and implement IHSA’s heat stress guidelines, what tools make heat safety easier to manage, and how to plan efficient, policy-aligned practices during peak summer heat.
This webinar will give you the tools and confidence to monitor heat stress proactively, respond faster, and keep athletes safe all season long. Watch the full session or keep reading for highlights and answers to the most common questions from Illinois schools.
What This Webinar Covers
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) heat stress policy demands clear WBGT thresholds, consistent monitoring, and swift action. In this webinar, we break down:
- What makes WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature) a more accurate metric for heat safety than heat index
- How schools can automate heat stress tracking and reduce the burden of manual readings
- Why real-time on-site sensors offer better protection than free weather apps
- What Illinois-specific data tells us about summer conditions and heat trends
- Tips for reducing heat-related risk while protecting athlete performance
- How to use historical weather data to track compliance and improve planning
Key Takeaways from the IHSA Webinar
1. WBGT Is the Standard—And Most Schools Aren’t Measuring It Correctly
The IHSA policy is built around wet bulb globe temperature, not air temperature, heat index, or “feels like” readings.
But many schools are still using tools like free weather apps or handheld Kestrel meters that don’t provide accurate or consistent WBGT data.
These tools require staff to be on-site, manually record readings, and interpret thresholds, creating room for error, delay, and non-compliance. Accurate, real-time WBGT monitoring is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a compliance requirement.
2. Manual Tracking Slows Down Decisions—and Puts Athletes at Risk
Relying on handheld Kestrel meters is a time-consuming process that burdens athletic trainers and can lead to inaccurate, last-minute decisions.
- The Manual Grind: Chris Murphy described his old routine of having to make “2, 3, 4, 5 trips during the day outside to see where we’re at” just to get a reading.
- Delayed Decisions: This process forces last-minute decisions, causing coaches to “scramble on me” right before practice instead of allowing for proactive planning.
- Inherent Inaccuracies: Handheld devices are prone to inconsistent readings due to calibration delays, the device’s small bulb size, and lack of a solar radiation shield, which can cause misreadings.
3. Policy-Aligned Automation Eliminates the Guesswork
When thresholds are crossed, Perry Weather sends automatic, IHSA-compliant alerts to coaches, staff, and admins—so everyone knows when to pause or modify activities.
These alerts are aligned to your school’s specific policy, taking the burden off individual trainers to interpret vague guidance or make on-the-fly judgment calls.
It’s not just faster—it’s safer, more consistent, and easier to defend if decisions are ever questioned.
4. Communication Tools Make Policy Enforcement Easier
One of the biggest pain points schools face isn’t heat monitoring—it’s explaining decisions. Why was practice paused? Why is the game delayed?
With Perry Weather’s mobile alerts, shared dashboards, and historical data logs, everyone sees the same information in real time.
Successfully managing mid-practice weather changes depends heavily on the trust and proactive communication established between athletic trainers and coaches.
- Proactive Communication: Murphy emphasized building relationships, noting he gets texts from coaches at “10 o’clock in the morning. ‘What are we doing today? What can we do?'”.
- Setting Expectations: He prepares coaches for potential disruptions ahead of time by saying things like, “Hey, we might need to make a change during, if it starts getting too hot”.
- Collaborative Approach: This foundation of trust allows for a collaborative, rather than confrontational, approach when necessary safety adjustments have to be made on the fly.
5. Historical Data Enables Smarter Planning & Accountability
One of the most valuable advantages Perry Weather brings to Illinois schools is historical WBGT data logging, which allows athletic trainers to plan ahead, defend decisions, and stay compliant under pressure.
Chris Murphy shared during the webinar, “I always have access to those numbers… it’s always there, it’s always doing its thing.”
This continuous logging helps staff:
- Track local WBGT trends over time, identifying when red and black zone days tend to spike during the season.
- Justify decisions to adjust practice times or cancel games—especially if challenged by administrators or parents.
- Export historical heat data in minutes, providing proof of compliance in case of heat-related incidents or medical concerns.
- Compare patterns year over year, like the 17 more black zone days in 2025 versus 2024, helping forecast risky time blocks (e.g., 1–5 PM).
Instead of chasing numbers manually, Perry Weather ensures every reading is recorded, every decision is defensible, and every trend is visible—all in one place.
Illinois Heat Trends: 2024 vs. 2025
Webinar includes snapshot visuals from weather stations across Illinois showing changes in WBGT exposure:
- More days in 2025 showing Orange → Red → Black zone exposure compared with 2024
- Practice times 1‑5 PM most affected, particularly in southern portions of the state
- A rising number of early morning and late afternoon hours creeping into risk zones
These trends emphasize the need to plan beyond this year—and get systems in place now.
FAQs from the IHSA Webinar
Should Zone 3 schools be allowed flexibility instead of fixed temperature zones, especially for border conferences?
IHSA sets minimum statewide standards; schools/leagues may be more restrictive but not looser. So “flexibility” is allowed only if it tightens safety (e.g., earlier suspensions), not if it relaxes thresholds. Many southern schools express that this keeps them from getting practices in, especially at the start of the season.
Does “contests” include both games and practices?
“Contests” refers to games specifically where two teams are competing against each other.
Why are all sports grouped under the same WBGT rules, when risk varies (e.g., baseball vs. football)?
WBGT measures environmental heat stress that affects all athletes; IHSA provides an “all sports” baseline and then adds extra restrictions for contact/equipment sports (e.g., helmets off when not in activity).
How should we handle practices when the WBGT reading shifts from the Red Zone to the Orange Zone during the session?
If a practice starts in the Red Zone (87.6–89.9°F), it is limited to a maximum of 1 hour with required breaks and equipment modifications.
If conditions improve and the WBGT drops into the Orange Zone (84.6–87.5°F) during that hour, you may extend the practice up to the Orange Zone maximum of 2 hours from your initial start time.
However, it is crucial to continue honoring all required breaks and cooling periods, as heat stress has a cumulative effect on the body.
When should policy changes be considered to account for hot-weather pad requirements in football?
The current policy has a graduated acclimatization schedule across the first 14 days:
- Days 1‒2: Helmet only
- Days 3‒5: Helmet + shoulder pads
- Days 6‒14: Full pads and full contact under structured limits.
This structure ensures gradual acclimation to both equipment and physical intensity, critical under hot conditions. Critics express concerns that pads should be introduced later in the schedule since it contributes heavily to the internal body heat, while the IHSA intent is that on days 3-5 physical intensity would be less although shoulder pads are still introduced.
Why are non-IHSA events like travel baseball/softball tournaments not restricted by the same rules?
IHSA policies apply only to IHSA-sanctioned activities and member schools. Non-IHSA events, such as travel or club tournaments, operate under different organizing bodies that may not follow the IHSA’s minimum safety standards. As Chris Murphy notes, “just because they aren’t [following the rules] doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be”.
Does IHSA have two separate WBGT categories?
While IHSA falls within two different WBGT categories, it maintains only one set of WBGT Zones/rules for the entire state which align with the standards for category 2. Many southern schools often experience much less practice time outdoors as a result.
Why are travel baseball/softball tournaments unrestricted while IHSA games are?
IHSA policies apply to IHSA-sanctioned activities. Non-IHSA events (travel/club) operate under different organizers and may not follow IHSA’s minimums—hence the discrepancy.
Thanks for joining us. We hope the webinar gave you practical takeaways for managing heat stress and keeping athletes safe. Perry Weather removes the guesswork from weather safety decisions—try it yourself with a free two-week trial.
