With temperatures expected to still be in the 90s at the start of Friday’s football game in Panther Stadium, authorities have decided to delay the start of the game 30 minutes.
“GHSA has certain heat policies that we have to abide by,” Ratliff said. “One of the things that we have to look at is called the wet bulb. The wet bulb is a mixture of a lot of different things, but the factors that come into it are wind and humidity.”
Principal Allen Leonard, Athletic Director Shane Ratliff, and football head coach Chad Phillips worked together to make this decision.
This is the first time in school history when the start of a game has been delayed due to heat restrictions.
To protect the school’s athletes, GHSA established a rule for the safety of players and attendees. When the wet bulb reading reaches 92 degrees, school officials have to delay athletic events. Penalties for not delaying activities can reach a fine of up to $1,000.
Starr’s Mill uses the Peri-weather system. It detects lightning and wet bulb temperatures. Based on forecasted temperatures and potential wet bulb readings, school officials made the decision to push the start time back by 30 minutes. Temperatures are expected to be around 85 degrees by 8 p.m.
“Heat is one of the most dangerous things for all of our athletes, and we definitely want to make sure that our athletes as well as our visiting athletes, our spectators, cheerleaders, band members, and everyone that is involved in the Friday night game is as safe as possible,” Leonard said. “Moving from 7:30 to 8 may not seem as big as a deal, but in our stadium especially, one of the things that it does is it provides more shade for the crowd and for all the athletes on the field because the sun typically sets behind our home stands and that shade is a big part of reducing that feeling of heat that we get in a stadium situation.”
This week’s excessive heat has already forced other fall sports to change their practice schedules. Both softball and cross country switched to early morning practices.
Starr’s Mill football hosts Northgate at 8 p.m. in Panther Stadium.