HEAT POLICY

RISE UP BASKETBALL – HEAT POLICY 

General Introduction  

All persons involved in in the organisation of games at Rise Up Basketball must be aware of the  effect that extremes of weather can have when playing or attending basketball.  

To minimise risk to persons, particularly when high temperatures are expected, Rise Up  Basketball has introduced the following heat policy procedures.  

The Venue Manager or Supervisor MUST measure the court temperature hourly with  thermometer provided whilst the stadium is in use on any day with a forecast temperature of 34  degrees or over.  

Record the date, time and temperature in the temperature log book provided. This will be a  permanent record kept by Rise Up Basketball. When the court temperature reaches 30 degrees  Celsius the Venue Manager should: 

• Open stadium doors where the outside temperature is cooler than the inside court  temperature, particularly if there is a cool breeze outside  
• Consider positioning fans, where available, on the players benches  
• Ensure there are adequate supplies of icepacks for use where appropriate  

When the court temperature reaches 35 degrees Celsius the Venue Manager MUST inform the  referees who MUST implement the following modified timing rules:  

• The game time must be reduced by 2 minutes per half  
• The referee must implement two (2) team timeouts per half. The clock must stop for each  timeout  
• The referee must call an additional compulsory timeout at approx.. the 8 minutes mark of  each half.  

When the court temperature reaches 37 degrees Celsius games must be abandoned. 

• If a game is abandoned before it commences or before half time or at half time it is  counted as a draw;  
• If a game is abandoned after half time, the game score stands as the final result.  Officials / Players / Coaches  

The health, safety and wellbeing of players, coaches and officials is a priority for Rise Up  Basketball.  

• Referees should wear shorts when officiating and be aware of the symptoms of heat stress  and be on the alert to notice any such symptoms  
• Full knowledge of availability of first aid equipment and first aid and medical personnel is  accessible by all persons attending  
• As a general guide, players and referees are advised to drink about 500ml (2 cups) of water  in the 2 hours before exercising. During exercise lasting 60 minutes or longer, 500-750ml  (2-3 cups) of fluids per hour should be sufficient to prevent dehydration. Constant sipping  is also advised. 

Coaches should consider a common-sense approach during games where high temperatures  are experienced by:  

• Ensuring players are aware of the need to hydrate regularly during, before and after the  game  
• Rotating players to ensure rest and rehydration  
• Utilising all timeouts to ensure players rehydrate  
• Taking a balanced approach to game play ie man to man defence in back court rather than  full court  
• Where possible teams should make every effort to provide extra drinks and wet towels for  games during these hot periods.