Weather Forcasts
During the week approaching a Louisiana State Tournament, LSA will monitor weather forecasts on an hourly basis and will remain in contact with the host club and the State Referee Committee (“SRC”). If the weekend forecast calls for rain, LSA will establish a Contingency Plan on Tuesday and will review the plan with the host club. To accommodate those teams that will be traveling, LSA will attempt to make the final decision by Thursday. Contingency plans may involve rescheduling games, decreasing the length of games, and/or canceling games altogether.
Lightning
Lightning is one of the top ten causes of sudden death in sports. LSA has, in conjunction with the recommendations in US Soccer’s Recognize to Recover Player Safety program, established guidelines to identify the threat of lightning during an LSA event and to take appropriate precautions. The determination as to whether to suspend or cancel play will be made by the LSA Tournament Director in consultation with the Tournament Health Care Providers and the SRC. As lightning can travel miles before striking, proper safety protocol demands that the fields be cleared when lightning is within range. Play shall be immediately suspended and an air horn or siren will be sounded. Play shall not be resumed until at least thirty (30) minutes have passed since the last known lightning strike within range. Unfortunately in Louisiana the skies can be clear and even sunny in the presence of lightning, but safety shall be our primary concern.
Heat Stress
LSA shall monitor the level of heat stress in sunlight at all LSA-related events by employing the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (“WBGT”) which takes temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and solar radiation into account. This is the same method of measuring heat stress used by the US Military, US Youth Soccer and American industry. LSA shall provide water breaks in state tournament competitions in a manner commensurate with the WBGT reading. The implementation of water breaks at state tournaments shall be in the discretion of the Tournament Director after consultation with the Tournament Health Care Providers and SRC.