From Wednesday, Sept. 9, to Friday, Sept. 11, all Marlborough School tennis and cross-country practices, including the tennis match against Beverly Hills on Friday, were canceled due to extremely high temperatures. All volleyball teams’ indoor practices and games were not canceled; however, coaches were ordered to grant their players frequent water breaks. 7th and 8th grade swimming practices continued on Wednesday and Thursday but did not have practice on Friday due to the heat.
According to Marlborough’s Athletic Trainer Sonya Stromberg, if the heat index is high enough, the School will cancel or modify athletic practices and competitions. There is no current CIF regulation regarding heat index, so each school’s maximum heat index for athletics differs. At Marlborough, Stromberg, who makes the final decision to cancel or modify athletics training, uses a maximum heat index of 95. Heat index is calculated from air temperature and humidity. Early fall and spring are the two most likely seasons to have an overly high heat index.
Since Stromberg started working at Marlborough four years ago, outdoor athletics practices and competitions have typically only been modified for a few days annually due to extreme heat. Last year was the first year that indoor volleyball practices had to be canceled due to poor air quality from fires.
Sometimes, the athletics department tries to move all practices indoors. There is limited court space during the fall because of volleyball season, however, adding indoor practices can be difficult. When space is available, outdoor teams, such as tennis or cross-country, train with with Strength and Conditioning Trainer Lindsey Yocum in the gym.
Varsity tennis players expressed mixed emotions regarding their canceled pre-season match vs. Beverly Hills on Friday.
“[I am] a little happy [the match was canceled], because it’s not that fun to play tennis when it’s super hot,” Jade ’17 said.
Jane ’19 explained that the cancellation of pre-season matches can be frustrating.
“I’m sad [the match] is canceled because we have our first match coming up that we need to prepare for… [but] it is a safety hazard,” Jane said.
