Impacts of Climate on Outdoor Sports

 

Impacts of Climate on Outdoor Sports

#climatechange #climateimpacts #weatherchange #sports #fitness #rainfall #climateimpactsonsports #climate #weather #heatwaves #temperature #hightemperature #heat #precipitation # wind #badweather

The impacts of weather on sport are varied, with some games or events unable to held while others are changes considerably. The performance of athletes can be reduced and some sporting world records are invalid if set under different weather conditions. The outdoor games are most affected than indoor sports.

Temperature

Temperature has significant effect on athlete’s performance. High temperature may cause numerous heat illness such as heatstroke, heat cramps, on the other hand, low temperature may lead to hypothermia. In skiing World Cup, races are postponed if temperature in major portion is -25 centigrade or lower, while in biathlon this limit extends to -20 Centigrade.

Training regimes may include methods of heat acclimatization and regulations in some sport’s stipulate intensity of schedules. In North America, the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA requires teams to build up level of training in hot weather. Such preparations and methods tend to improve athletes’ performance and reduce the risk of heat stroke.

High temperature or heat results in thinner air, that results in less drag on players in sports where air resistance play a major role. Velodrome designers capitalize on this issue, heating stadium in hope of making cycling faster, and The Daily Telegraph has reported that Olympic Games organizers have pumped cool air into velodromes to give opposite teams a disadvantage.

The last three decades have been hottest since 1850, with more intense heat waves. These frequent heat waves endanger the health of sportsmen and women and would disturb all sports activities, ultimately affecting athlete’s performance. The ideal temperature for sports involving high-intensity effort over short period is 23 centigrade and 10 centigrade for prolonged efforts.

Precipitation

Some sports are cancelled or postponed due to precipitation. Some are deemed too dangerous to play when ground is damp because of danger of injury or some serious issue to the player through slipping, while playing. When played professionally, the given below sports don’t occur during any level of precipitation:

·       Auto racing

·       Baseball

·       Cricket

·       Tennis

·       Golf

Due to heavy rain, the event may be cancelled or postponed because of waterlogged pitch. Winter sports may be cancelled due to amount of snow on ground.

Visibility

Some sports cannot be played due to insufficient light and may be proved dangerous or disadvantageous to competitor. Cricket test match finishes when umpire decides that light intensity is low and timing of this can be controversial. The difficulties of playing match in low intensity of light is also disputed. Some evens are called off due to heavy rain.

Rain

Gameplay or events are often cancelled due to heavy rainfall. It is not to be confused with a type of out in baseball, though baseball can be rained out. Delays or postpone due to other kind of weather are named lightning delay, fog delay or thunderstorm delay. A night game can be postponed if floodlight system fails. Sometimes, spectators will be issued a ticket for make up event, known as a “rain check”.

Association football normally plays on through rain, although matches can be cancelled if pitch becomes over logged or there is risk of lightning in field area. If there is severe rainfall during match, it can become a point of controversy whether match should be cancelled. For example, on the final day of 1999-2000 Serie A season, when Juventus had to play out a match against Perugia despite the pitch appearing to be unplayable. Juventus lost match 1-0 on 2nd half.

Wind

Wind can blow the equipment in sporting event, changing the direction of ball. In golf, the wind may influence the way a shot is taken. A headwind can slow runners, while they may gain wind assistance from tailwind. Some sports rely on presence of wind, especially surface water sports.


Comments