The average temperature in Concord during the month of September is right around 73 degrees. When temperatures this week soared into the 90s, football players couldn’t practice in full pads, soccer practices moved indoors and high school games pushed back their start times until the heat was slightly more tolerable.
On Thursday, Coe-Brown’s boys’ soccer game against Trinity was postponed. On Wednesday, Concord girls’ soccer had its kickoff against Hanover pushed from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Meanwhile, John Stark field hockey’s home game against Goffstown moved from Weare to Goffstown and to a 7:30 p.m. start. On Tuesday, Concord boys’ and girls’ soccer both had their games postponed. The Crimson Tide’s cross country meet met the same fate.
These decisions aren’t just made randomly. Area athletic directors rely on guidelines that focus on the WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), a metric that factors in temperature, humidity, cloud cover, wind speed and the angle of the sun. With the WBGT veering above 86.2 F on Tuesday – the threshold above which outdoor activities are not allowed – Concord girls’ soccer practiced indoors at NH SportsDome in Hooksett. The other indoor facility in Goffstown was booked from 3 to 7 that night, head coach Andrew Mattarazzo said.
“I’ve been coaching in high school for about nine years now up in New Hampshire here – Bishop Brady, Goffstown or Concord – I think this is really the first two years that we’ve kind of dealt with (extreme heat),” he said. “I don’t remember in the past ever really having to deal with it being too hot or anything.”
It’s less than ideal to reschedule games and practices, but it’s easier to deal with earlier in the season than later when playoff implications hang in the balance.
“I think this is really just something that people just have to handle and take care of it. And when you have the right administration and the right plan, it works out fine,” Mattarazzo said.
While the extreme heat for fall sports in New Hampshire might be a bit unusual, the heat this week continued a larger pattern of extreme temperatures seen across the United States and globally this summer. On Wednesday, the World Meteorological Organization announced that this past June through August was the hottest three-month period ever recorded on the planet.
Temperatures in the area are expected to return closer to normal next week, but with this almost assuredly not the last time athletes will have to contend with extreme heat, it’s all about being able to adapt in the short term.
“It is tough for people to deal with for the one week, but there are ways around it,” Mattarazzo said. “I saw some games kicking off at 7, 8 o’clock last night to be able to get the games in, which people with turf and lights are able to do. People just have to use their mind and think outside the box instead of, ‘Oh, we have to reschedule.’ If you can practice in the shade, if you can practice in an indoor facility, those are also benefits for people to be able to do and to use.”