APPENDIX O
Lightening Safety Policy
Coaches should be aware of National Weather Service issued thunderstorm watches and warnings, as well as watching for signs of approaching storms, such as darkening skies, increasing winds and a sudden change in temperature. An up-to-date, detailed weather report for our area can be obtained before outdoor games or practices by visiting www.weather.com and typing in our Zip Code.
The flash-to-bang count will be utilized to monitor impending lightening strikes. Each coach is responsible for recognizing lightening danger and instructing all participants to move to a safe location. It is recommended that each coach suspends activity and begins to evacuate from the fields at the first flash of lightening that is seen. By the time the flash-to-bang count reaches 30 seconds, all participants should be in the designated safe location. The indoor pool should also be evacuated. Athletes should be instructed to leave heavy or cumbersome equipment in place and move safely, but quickly to the designated facility.
Rationale: Light travels faster than sound, which travels at approximately 1 mile/second. Begin counting on the lightening flash, and stop counting when the associated clap of thunder is heard. Divide the time to thunder by five to determine the distance to the lightening flash. If the flash-to-bang count is 30 seconds, then the flash was 6 miles away, and the next strike could conceivably be above the observer.
The designated safe structure for the Smith College athletic fields, outdoor track, and tennis courts will be the field house. Members of the crew team will utilize the boathouse. Within the safe structure, no use of landline telephones or plumbing should be permitted. Portable telephones, cellular phones or 2-way radios should be used if assistance is needed. When traveling to another school for a competition, coaches should be aware of the location of the nearest safe structure, or the location of the bus or vans. If a storm is expected, the coach should discuss the evacuation plan with the hosting coach or medical staff.
Rationale: Frequently inhabited buildings with electrical wiring and plumbing are the safest structures during a lightening storm. The plumbing and wiring assist in grounding the building and it is hazardous to be connected with those systems. This is also why it is unsafe to be in an indoor pool during a lightening storm.
If a team is a considerable distance from a sturdy, frequently inhabited building, any vehicle with a hard metal roof and rolled-up windows can provide a measure of safety.
Rationale: The metal enclosure of the vehicle guides the lightening current around the passengers rather than through them. Athletes should be instructed not to touch the outside of the vehicle.
If no safe structure is within a reasonable distance, participants should try to find a thick grove of smaller trees surrounded by taller trees or a dry ditch. Stay away from the tallest trees or objects (flag poles, light poles), metal objects (fences, bleachers), individual trees, standing pools of water, and open fields.
Rationale: Lightening generally strikes the highest object. If you are standing under an isolated tree, the lightening may jump from the tree to you.
Athletes should be instructed that if they feel their hair stand on end or their skin tingle, a lightening strike is eminent. They should assume a crouched position with only the balls of their feet touching the ground, wrap their arms around their knees, lower their heads, and cover their ears. DO NOT LIE FLAT!
Rationale: Contact with the ground must be minimized as lightening current often travels across the ground and into the victim. Decreasing the surface area touching the ground minimizes the amount of current entering the body. Crouching low to the ground decreases the risk of a strike from above. Victims of lightening strikes often have damage to their ears, so covering the ears may diminish the damage.
At any event when a public address system is available, spectators should be informed if there is a lightening hazard and given clear instructions to the nearest safe shelter.
Once activities are suspended, coaches must wait at least 30 minutes after the last flash of lightening or sound of thunder before moving back outside.
Rationale: The typical storm moves at approximately 25 miles per hour. Waiting thirty minutes allows the storm to be 10-12 miles away, minimizing the risk of a nearby lightening strike. Lightening can strike in the absence of rain and from apparently blue skies overhead.
