Outside Montbello Recreation Center on Monday night, as temperatures hovered around 96 degrees at 6 p.m. and air quality dipped into unhealthy levels for sensitive groups, a youth baseball team took the field for its end-of-season game amid state and national health advisories that lasted well past sunset.
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“Children have to be constantly reminded to drink water, and parents and coaches should be encouraging that excessively in heat like this,” said parent Calli Parker, whose child played for Denver Parks & Recreation’s Carla Madison Recreation Center and its 9-to-10-year-old baseball team. “Because they’re usually not going to do it themselves.”
Denver on Monday broke its own heat record when thermometers reached 101 degrees at Denver International Airport, according to meteorologists, notching the date’s highest temperature since 1878.
But protecting kids’ health during extreme weather, whether that’s searing heat, thunderstorms or freezing cold, is less clear-cut when parents, coaches and players assemble for practice and games. Adults must carefully weigh whether it’s safe for kids to play, since they’re often the last stop for protecting children’s safety on the field, said Dennis Coonan, manager of the Sports Medicine Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
“It really should be up to the organization or the coaching staff, which ultimately needs to be in charge of safety,” he said. “But it’s also everybody’s responsibility to keep an eye on these things.”
Climate change-caused extreme heat and poor air quality from wildfire smoke have become summer fixtures in Denver and elsewhere, with the Mile High City breaking or tying its record summer temperatures each of the last five years, according to the National Weather Service.
And yet, there is no objective temperature at which it’s unsafe to play, according to sports organizations. Humidity, sun or cloud cover, wind and other factors can easily make 95 degrees feel like 85 or 105. Rather, the best measure is the Wet Bulb Heat Index, which takes all of those into account, Coonan said.
“It also depends on your acclimatization,” he said. “Are you from here or South Texas? Are you from a higher altitude where you might be used to thinner air? It makes a difference.”
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment had declared Monday, July 20, an Ozone Action Day, while the National Weather Service issued its heat advisory due to temperatures “that may cause heat illness.” Symptoms of those illnesses range from cramps to, on the extreme side, life-threatening heatstroke, when one’s internal temperature hits 104 degrees or higher and symptoms such as a rapid heart rate, excessive sweating, dizziness, confusion or even seizures can occur at once and without warning.
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Denver Parks & Recreation guidance dictates that the city agency may “cancel or delay games, practices, or activities due to wet/unsafe playing conditions, cold temperatures (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit), imminent threat of lightning (within 10 miles of location), or other adverse weather conditions.” But there’s often no specific mention of heat or air quality in city advisories, so individual coaches and recreation centers are typically allowed to make those decisions.
“Site staff and umpires will work with coaches to take hydration breaks as needed during play,” according to the department’s guidelines, which also note that players should plan to “bring extra water and sun protection; limit physical activity prior to games; wear lightweight clothing; and avoid caffeine and eat smaller but more frequent meals or snacks.”
Denver Parks & Recreation employees always follow heat-stress and air-quality safety recommendations to guide their programs, which has different levels of action depending on the severity, said spokesperson Stephanie Figueroa. On Monday, for example, DPR added a pop-up window to their Youth Sports website with the heat advisory, but also noted that “games will be played as scheduled.”
“If a heat-related illness occurs, it is important not only to recognize the signs but also to act quickly by lowering the individual’s body temperature and calling 911,” said Josh Polgar, general manager of athletics at South Suburban Parks and Recreation in Littleton. “Parents also play an important role by ensuring their child is well hydrated and appropriately dressed, keeping them home if they are sick or have a condition that makes them more susceptible to heat-related illness, and informing coaches of any medical conditions or medications that may increase their risk.”
Kent Wilhemli, whose 10-year-old played baseball at the Montbellow rec center on Monday night, said young people depend on adults to protect them in all sorts of ways, and the immediate danger of dehydration, heatstroke and serious respiratory issues as a result of poor air quality is the most crucial during outdoor summer sports.
More 100-degree days likely to pop up in August, meteorologists have warned, even as many youth sports leagues have ended and back-to-school practices rev up.
“I’ve seen kids taken away in ambulances from race courses and skiing, so I’m sensitive to it,” said Wilhelmi. “But one of our teammates’ families brought a whole cooler of Gatorade today, so kudos to them.”
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