General | 7/14/2025 4:00:00 PM

As the 2025-26 athletic year is around the corner, Clinton Athletics continues to follow wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) data to make necessary modifications to practices and games, emphasizing player safety.

Mandated by the Mississippi High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) in July 2023, the Clinton Athletics Department monitors weather forecasts and specifically the WGBT readings daily.

"We are going to continue following the procedures mandated by the MHSAA and wet bulb globe temperature readings to keep all Clinton student-athletes safe," Clinton Athletics Director Judd Boswell said. "Our coaches and athletic trainer are constantly monitoring the weather temperatures and wet-bulb readings to make sure every practice and event is safe for our student-athletes to participate."

Long recognized by the sports medicine community since the 1950s, WGBT combines factors such as temperature, direct sunlight, humidity, wind speed, and air pressure, to tabulate a measurement that best estimates the current environment for physical activity and heat stress on individuals. More accurate than thermometer readings alone, WGBT has been shown to provide an accurate measurement of environmental heat stress and is used by the United States military.

As WGBT readings rise, the data determines practice time and durations while increasing rest times and hydration breaks for athletes during the blistering heat.

For more information on WGBT, follow this MHSAA link. Additionally, the MHSAA provided steps for heat acclimatization and heat illness prevention through the following link.