Lightning safety in youth sports
Lightning is a dangerous common weather hazard that athletes and nonathletes alike experience.
The timing of outdoor athletic practices and games, from late spring to the early fall and afternoon to early evening, when thunderstorms are more prevalent and produce more lightning, puts athletes at an increased risk.
While some locations are more prone to lightning, no place in the United States is entirely safe from lightning. It is up to each individual to be aware of their lightning safety. For young athletes, their safety from lightning should also be your responsibility as the parent, as well as the responsibility of their team and sports organization.
What goes into a lightning safety plan?
A lightning-specific safety plan.
Every practice and game venue, or field should establish a venue-specific, lightning-specific emergency action plan. This should be specific for every field and venue on the premises and displayed to be viewed. Everyone in charge should be educated on on the lightning safety plan.
Ask your child’s coach or team organizer what their safety plan is, both for events at home and away. If there isn’t one or they don’t know what it is, you can use the information below to create a lightning-specific safety plan for your child and their team.
Establish a chain of command.
Who will make the call to stop play due to lightning or weather? This person must be recognized to have the authority to stop play. Is this a coach, or a specific parent, or the club president?
Use a reliable means of monitoring the local weather.
There should be one, preidentified person who will be responsible for monitoring the weather if it appears that there could be thunderstorms. Commercial, real-time lightning detection services can identify lightning that is not clearly seen from some outdoor locations due to trees, stadiums, or other natural landscapes.
Some services that are well liked include:
Climeradar (available in the Apple store or on Google play)
My Lightning Tracker (available in the Apple store or on Google play)
Local weather forecasts are available on the National Weather Service webpage. There are radar maps that can be zoomed into your local area to monitor for developing storms.
Identify safe and unsafe locations from lightning.
The emergency plan should identify safe and unsafe locations away from lightning in advance. Safe locations would include fully enclosed buildings with wiring and plumbing and vehicles such as buses, cars, and vans. Unsafe locations would include places like open shelters, dugouts, press boxes, and open garages. Trees, poles, and bodies of water should be avoided.
Determine criteria for stopping play and when it is safe to resume.
Determining how long it takes to clear the fields will determine when play should be suspended as a storm approaches. If there is a large number of people who will need to reach a safe location, or players and fans are spread over many acres of fields, there should be more time given to reach safety and the earlier play should be suspended.
All players, coaches, and fans will need to be in their safe location by the time a storm producing lightning is roughly 6 miles away.
This doesn’t mean clearing the fields at that time, but everyone should already be in their safe location when the front edge of the storm is no less than 6 miles away.
All activities should be suspended for 30 minutes after last hearing thunder or seeing lightning.
Every time there is thunder heard or lightning detected within that 6 miles, that 30 minute-wait-clock should reset.
If thunder can be heard, lightning is close enough to be a problem. Thunder never occurs in the absence of lightning.
Follow lightning safety protocols.
This seems obvious, but once the lightning safety plan has been established, it must be followed to be effective. Every coach and parent is responsible for enforcing and supporting the plan.
Have first-aid equipment available.
AEDs and other first-aid equipment should be easily available for anyone to access in the chance of an emergency. They should never be behind a locked door during practice or competitions. Coaches, players, and by-standers should know where they can be found in the event of an emergency.
You can learn more about lightning safety and precautions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.
What questions do you have about lightning safety in sports and creating a safety plan? Leave your comment or question below.
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with your team organizers and fellow sports parents to ensure safety for everyone!
Disclaimer: This post is for informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice, and does not establish any patient relationship with me. I’m not liable or responsible for any damages related to your use of this information. Information given is a generality of athletic injuries and treatments and is not meant to replace traditional medical advice. Please consult a physician for proper care.