To deal with unusually high temperatures to start off the fall sports season, BV teams took special precautions.
Activities such as band and cross country were the first to encounter the heat problem.
According to Kansas State High School Activities Association guidelines, if the temperature is over 90 degrees, water and rest breaks should be taken every 15-20 minutes.
The cross country team practiced hard, five days a week this summer, even in the heat.
The team had mileage goals for both girls’ and boys’ teams.
Cross country captain, senior Ben Gaede said he set his own goals to push through the late-summer heat.
“I set myself to become accustomed to run in the heat,” he said.
In order to keep runners healthy and safe, cross country coach Diana Huber had to make exceptions. Occasionally they would try to pick a shadier route, shorten the route or have morning practices before school.
The team took precautions to avoid heat sickness, like drinking a lot of water. Gaede said he experienced some trouble due to extreme heat.
“I got sick,” he said. “I’m not sure if anyone else did. I got super dizzy, my whole body got super cold and I almost passed out.”
The band also practiced in the heat during the summer as well as before school.
“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday we are on the field at 7 a.m., practicing through first hour and on Thursday 6 – 9 p.m.,” saxophonist, sophomore Max Rohlf said.
Rohlf said enduring such extreme heat also affected the musicians’ health at times.
“We had a couple of kids over the course of band camp that had to go inside because they were sick,” Rohlf said.
Sophomore Nikki Sisson attended speed and agility training over the summer. She said the heat affected the summer session.
“I feel that workouts went extremely well,” Sisson said. “Even though the heat was pretty unbearable.”
Sisson said sometimes athletes get so preoccupied with getting better, they forget to take precautions in extreme heat.
“It was pretty intense,” she said. “I didn’t want to get heat stroke, but I kept going.”