How some schools are coping with the heat

Sport Singapore on Monday sent out a circular advising athletes under the National Sports Associations to avoid strenuous activity between noon and 4pm, following warnings from authorities that temperatures could reach 36 degrees Celsius in coming weeks.
Chan Luo Er, Channel NewsAsia 21 Mar 16;

SINGAPORE: Sport Singapore on Monday (Mar 21) sent out a circular advising athletes under the National Sports Associations (NSAs) to avoid strenuous activity between noon and 4pm, following warnings from authorities that temperatures could range from 33 and 34 degrees Celsius in coming weeks, and could reach 36 degrees Celsius.

In the advisory, Sport Singapore said the health impact of unusually warm days is dependent on one's health, the temperature, as well as the length and intensity of exposure to the sun.

It encouraged staff and athletes under NSAs to drink plenty of water, take frequent breaks in the shade, and to watch out for symptoms of heat stress, which include fatigue, nausea and light-headedness.

The Singapore Sports School told Channel NewsAsia that most of its sports training is already held indoors, and when it gets too hot, any outdoor training will take place indoors.

CHIJ Katong Convent’s Track and Field team, which trains at the Kallang Practice Track twice a week, has been advised to consume more water and on occasion, train indoors to conduct physical conditioning exercises.

However, some team members said this arrangement is not ideal.

“It's really hard to move our exercises indoors, because some of us are field athletes, so we need the long jump pit, we need the cages to throw. For the sprinters, we also need the track with our markings. There are a lot of cases where people are dehydrated. For those who are unwell, usually they have to sit out under the shade and we will let them rest in the meantime,” said CHIJ Katong Convent student Atiqa Mashhood Dar, 17.

Student athletes from United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) also continued their training on Monday. Apart from ensuring athletes are hydrated, their coach said she is closely monitoring each member of her team as the heat affects everyone differently.

"We also have to pay attention to each athlete individually to see if they are over-heating or anything of that sort, to be able to tell an athlete: ‘Go sit in the shade, you are done for the day.’ If it is entirely too hot, we would just have to cancel training for the day,” said UWCSEA Track and Field Coach Katrina Hall-Engle.

- CNA/dl