Northern California athletes must be prepared for a variety of weather conditions when competing in championships outside of their home state. To ensure they are ready for any environment, athletes must understand the importance of acclimating to different climates and the risks associated with dietary supplements. The dietary supplement industry is vast and can be dangerous if not researched properly. Even when the FDA reviews supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies may refuse to recall them from the market.
It is important for athletes to be informed consumers and research any dietary supplements they are considering taking. USADA Supplement 411 is a great resource for athletes to learn more about dietary supplements. Acclimating to different climates is essential for athletes competing in championships outside of their home state. For example, if a school team is from Florida, where they train at sea level all year round, they may be intimidated to learn that the National Championships will be held high in a mountain town in Colorado. The golden rule for athletes is to go as soon as possible to a place that has different conditions to acclimate.
Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 Olympic Games, has become a stopover for athletes whose Olympic dream is to chase the snow. The ski team recently spent a week there at a spring training camp. Variations in surface type, ranging from hard tennis courts to artificial grass and natural grass, can affect wind, relative humidity and radiation, creating local microenvironmental variability in WBGT measurements compared to standardized conditions at weather stations. Respect the environment you're in and adjust your training or level of effort accordingly, and then be sure to allow your body to recover while you're in these different environments. As the countdown approaches to the start of Friday night football games in Northern California high schools, state health officials are offering guidance on how to protect young athletes during periods of high heat. However, as far as we know, no one has investigated how the values of WBGT modeled on weather station data vary between the different surfaces and environments that are commonly used in athletics. At the bottom of my goal pyramid, I listed goals such as earning my degree, becoming a scholarship athlete, and becoming an All-American.
The model's performance is also likely to improve when weather stations (and solar radiation data) are close to sports sites. Using NWS data, sports coaches may not prudently make appropriate modifications to physical activity when environmental conditions warrant, leading to a dangerous increase in the risk of traumatic brain injury. Northern California players may start to get nervous when competing in championships in the hot and humid Midwest after training for months in mild, dry weather. It is important for athletes from Northern California to understand how different weather conditions can affect their performance and take steps to prepare accordingly. To ensure they are ready for any environment, athletes must understand the importance of researching dietary supplements and acclimating to different climates. Squaw Valley has become a stopover for athletes whose Olympic dream is to chase the snow and it is important for them to adjust their training or level of effort accordingly.
Variations in surface type can affect wind, relative humidity and radiation creating local microenvironmental variability in WBGT measurements compared to standardized conditions at weather stations. State health officials are offering guidance on how to protect young athletes during periods of high heat but it is important for Northern California players to understand how different weather conditions can affect their performance and take steps to prepare accordingly.
