WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — With the extreme temperatures, many school districts across the area have implemented precautions to keep students safe. Washington County schools made a plan to keep their athletes safe during this extreme heat.
Washington County Public Schools canceled outdoor activities for students, which meant gym classes and recess were held indoors.
“As we approach the season, we are facing this extreme heat advisory, and we have to ensure the safety and well-being of our student-athletes, ” Athletic Director for South Hagerstown High School, Dwayne Freeman said.
Meanwhile, sporting events and practice for athletes were delayed until after 6 p.m.
“We were modifying our practices, teams will have meetings indoors, and at this point, we’ll wait until later this evening and if the temperatures drop to a safe level, then our student-athletes will be allowed to go out and have practices,” Freeman said.
Daveon Martin plays football and said even though it is uncomfortably hot, he thinks there are other ways to stay cool while keeping things on schedule.
“We could just go outside, no pads, more water breaks or something that’s not interrupting,” Martin suggested.
Some other athletes were concerned delaying sports practice would throw off their school schedule.
“Normally the JV game would start at 5:30 but it started at 6 and our game started at 7:30,” Ana Smalls-Simmons said. “So, we’re not going to be able to get home until maybe it maybe 9 or 10 so it’s definitely going to put me a little behind on homework.”
Freeman said it’s important for the student-athletes to get their practice in, but even more important to keep everyone safe.