A Model Lightning Safety Policy for Athletics

Brian L. Bennett, MEd, ATC

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to present a model policy on lightning safety for athletic trainers.

Background: Among college athletic programs in the United States there is a serious lack of written policy on lightning safety. Available evidence shows that most National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I institutions, even though they are located in high lightning activity areas of the country, do not have formal, written lightning safety policies.

Clinical Advantages/Recommendations: The policy presented herein, which is at the forefront of such policies, is the lightning safety policy written as part of a policies and proce dures manual for the division of sports medicine at a public NCAA Division I university. This is a policy based on practicality that utilizes the "flash-to-bang" method for determining the distance of lightning activity from the observer. The policy begins with the importance of prevention, including the daily monitoring of weather reports. The policy defines a "safe shelter" and specifies the chain of command for determining who removes a team or individuals from an athletic site in the event of dangerous lightning activity.

Key Words: policies and procedures, environmental hazards

Few athletic training programs have written policies on lightning safety, and it is not uncommon for a lightning safety policy to be overlooked in the development of an athletic training policy manual. Walsh et all corroborate this point. Presented herein is the lightning safety policy that the author wrote for the "Policies and Procedures Manual" of the Division of Sports Medicine at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.

The need for athletic trainers to develop a policy on lightning safety is compelling: lightning kills more people directly each year than any other weather phenomenon 2-4 (Discover. November 1990:51-56). In an average year, lightning directly kills between 100 and 600 people in the United States, leaving many hundreds more injured 10 (Discover. November 1990:51-56). According to Uman,3 "about 70% of all lightning injuries and fatalities occur in the afternoon," with most lightning deaths occurring outdoors. This poses a serious and potential environmental hazard to our student-athletes; as a representative example, 15 of 23 sports at The College of William and Mary are practiced outdoors, with most of those teams practicing between 2:00 and 6:00 PM. In addition, the southeastern and southern United States, which include Virginia, have the highest density of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, compared with the rest of the country.° The development of a lightning safety policy at The College of William and Mary was necessitated by its geographic location, which elevates the odds of a lightning casualty; an additional impetus was an incident in which a team was not removed from a field during a dangerous thunderstorm.

The College of William and Mary Lightning Safety Policy
The keys to lightning safety are education and prevention.9 Education begins with background information on lightning and an understanding of the basic physics of lightning, Prevention should begin long before any athletic event. The first preventive measure to mitigate the lightning hazard is for the coaching/athletic training staff to check the weather report each day before a practice or event.4,9,10 In this way, the staff will be aware of the possibility of a storm's forming or moving into the area during the day. The College of William and Mary Division of Sports Medicine has a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio that can give weather reports or sound an alarm if the National Weather Service issues a severe thunderstorm watch or warning for the Williamsburg area.

Second, the coaching/athletic training staff should be aware of the signs of nearby thunderstorm development 4,9,10 Lightning and thunder activity in the local area are the alarms for the coaching/athletic training staff to begin monitoring thunderstorm activity, such as direction of movement and distance to the lightning flashes. It is imperative to understand that thunderstorms can become threatening in as little as half an hour .4,9 Furthermore, the coaching/athletic training staff should know the location of the safe shelter closest to the athletic site and how long it takes to reach that shelter .4,9 The College of William and Mary Division of Sports Medicine defines safe shelter as (1) any sturdy building that has metal plumbing or wiring, or both, to electrically ground the structure, ie, not a shed or a shack ,3-6,8,10 and (2) in the absence of a sturdy building as described above, any vehicle with a hard metal roof (le, not a convertible or a golf cart) with the windows rolled up .3-6,8,10.

Third, the coaching/athletic training staff should be aware of how close lightning is occurring. The "flash-to-bang" method 4,9,10 is the most convenient way to estimate how far away lightning activity is occurring. Simply stated, count the seconds between seeing the lightning "flash" and hearing the clap of thunder ("bang"). Divide this number by five to determine how far away (in miles) lightning is occurring.

For practical purposes, The College of William and Mary's Division of Sports Medicine advocates the following policy on lightning safety for intercollegiate outdoor athletic activities, including swimming:

1. If the "flash-to-bang" interval is decreasing rapidly, and the storm is approaching your location, or if the "flash-to-bang" count approaches thirty (30) seconds, all outdoor and swimming pool intercollegiate athletic activities must cease. All persons must immediately leave the athletic site or the swimming pool area and seek safe shelter. The locker room shower and plumbing facilities do not provide safe shelter and should not be used during this time.3,7,8,10
2. Stay away from tall or individual trees, lone objects (eg, light or flag poles), metal objects (eg, metal fences or bleachers), standing pools of water, and open fields. 3-6,8-10 Avoid being the tallest object in a field. Do not take shelter under a single tall tree. 3,5,6,8,10
3. If there is no safe shelter within a reasonable distance, crouch in a thick grove of small trees surrounded by taller trees3,9,10 or in a dry ditch .3•5.6 Crouching with only your feet touching the ground and keeping your feet close together, wrap your arms around your knees and lower your head to minimize your body's surface area. 4-6.8-10 Do not lie flat! 9
4. Do not remain in a boat or continue swimming in the open water. 3.5,6,8.10 Locate safe shelter as quickly as possible.
5. If you feel your hair stand on end or your skin tingle or hear crackling noises, immediately crouch (as in No. 3) to minimize your body surface area.5,9,10
6. Allow 30 minutes to pass after the last sound of thunder or flash of lightning before resuming any intercollegiate athletic activity.9
7. Do not use the telephone unless there is an emergency 3-8,10 (Discover. November 1990:51-56). People have been struck by lightning and killed while using a land-line telephone 3,4,6-8 (Discover. November 1990:51-56).
8. Lightning strike victims do not carry an electrical charge. 5,6,10 CPR is safe for the responder and has been shown to be effective in reviving lightning strike victims.
9. Pay much more attention to the lightning threat than to the rain. It need not be raining for lightning to strike; lightning can strike far from the rainshaft.4,9,10

The onus of removing a team or individuals from an athletic site in the event of dangerous and imminent lightning activity is on the coach supervising the activity. The safety of any team or student-athlete ultimately rests with that coach. Whenever possible, the full-time certified athletic training staff will advise the coach supervising the activity as to the danger and proximity of the lightning threat. However, the responsibility still remains with supervising coaches to remove their teams or individuals from a field or event site.

With the information and background on lightning presented in this policy, the coach or athletic trainer, or both, can make an intelligent and safe decision regarding the removal of a team or individuals from an athletic site or the stopping of play during dangerous thunderstorm activity. In addition, any individuals who feel they are in danger of any lightning activity have the right to leave a field or event site to seek safe shelter.

Discussion

The College of William and May policy on lightning safety may generate two questions: (1) why use a 30-second rule to determine when to remove a team or individuals from the field or event site; and (2) why put the onus for removing a team or individuals from an athletic site on the coach supervising the activity?

Lightning may strike as far as ten (or more) miles away from the rainshaft,4,9,10 but this occurrence is relatively rare (personal communication, Ron Holle, MS, National Severe Storms Laboratory, Spring, 1996). The average distance from one lightning flash to the next in the same thunderstorm is approximately 2 to 3 miles.9 Therefore, if you are within 2 to 3 miles of a lightning flash, it is conceivable that the next lightning flash could be at your locaton.9 Holle et a19 and Vavrek et a14 strongly recommend that the "flash-to-bang" count be longer than 15 seconds. Likewise, Andrews et a16 recommend that if the "flash-to-bang" count is less than 15 seconds, then "immediate action to move to a safer position should be taken." This extremely short "flash-to-bang" count puts the athlete at a very high risk for a lightning strike, because the lightning flashes are dangerously close.

Practicality is the basis of the 30-second rule. The rule is a compromise between an inordinately short "flash-to-bang" count of 10 to 15 seconds and a "flash-to-bang" count of 50 seconds (or the most conservative rule of all, leaving the athletic site at the first sight of lightning activity or sound of thunder). Some people subscribe to the notion of leaving an athletic site at the first sound of thunder or the first flash of lightning. This rule may be fine for some situations, but we feel it is impractical for athletics here at The College of William and Mary. Newspaper reports show that most people do not heed such a restrictive rule anyway.9 A long "flash-to-bang" count of 50 seconds may generate some false alarms and result in a lack of faith in the coaching staff regarding the lightning safety policy. Here at The College of William and Mary, we feel the 30-second rule offers our student-athletes enough time to leave a field and move to safe shelter, and it complies with suggestions in the literature that the flash-to-bang count be longer than 15 seconds.

If you use the "flash-to-bang" count to determine when to remove a team or individuals from a field or event site, establish a count that you are comfortable with, remembering that the count must be longer than 15 seconds. For all intents and purposes, the count should be 20 seconds or longer. The other alternative is to leave the field or event site at the first sound of thunder or the first flash of lightning. Use whichever of these two methods you are comfortable with. The point is to develop a lightning safety policy with the appropriate safety recommendations to better ensure the safety of your athletes.

With respect to the chain of command, the Division' of Sports Medicine at The College of William and Mary believes that the coaches supervising activities are ultimately responsible for the safety of their student-athletes. The coach plans all team practices, including locations and times of practices. Our rationale for the lightning safety policy here at The College of William and Mary is similar to that for our policy on the prevention of heat illness. Just as supervising coaches should avoid planning activities or practices during the hottest times of the day, to reduce the likelihood of heat illness, they should also, after checking a daily weather report, plan team or individual activities with the threat of thunderstorm activity in mind, The athletic training staff at The College of William and Mary will (whenever possible) notify coaches when lightning activity is dangerously close and when their teams should leave a field or event site. Nonetheless, the actual responsibility for calling a team or individuals off a field still remains with the coach supervising the activity.

Conclusion

The purpose of this article is to present a model lightning safety policy, since the lack of written lightning safety policies is conspicuous, especially in NCAA Division I athletics. This policy is presented so that athletic trainers may take it in its base form and apply it with any necessary modifications to their institutions or unique situations. I hope that the publication of the lightning safety policy of The College of William and Mary will help athletic trainers understand the need to develop their own lightning safety policies, ones they are comfortable with.

I feel the minimum components of any lightning safety policy are (1) to establish who is responsible for making the call to leave a field or event (ie, the coach or athletic trainer); (2) to explain the "flash-to-bang" method; (3) to establish criteria for leaving a field or event (eg, 30-second "flash-tobang" count or at the first sign of lightning); (4) to define a safe shelter and list the locations of the safe shelters for each athletic site; (5) to develop lightning safety guidelines (eg, do not take shelter under trees); and (6) to establish criteria for return to play. If a game has been suspended due to dangerous lightning activity, a message outlining lightning safety measures should be broadcast to spectators and competitors. If a game has been cancelled or postponed, a separate message should be broadcast to spectators and competitors telling them that they should seek safe shelter, as demonstrated by the following example: "All spectators, competitors, and personnel should go inside the nearest school building as quickly as possible. A vehicle with a metal roof and the windows rolled up is a safe alternative to a sturdy building. Do not take shelter under trees or other tall, lone objects. Do not remain on, under, or near metal bleachers or metal fences. Do not use the telephone or the shower or plumbing facilities."

The three most important points to remember about lightning safety are (1) planning ahead by checking a weather report each day; (2) comparing how far you are from safe shelter versus how far away lightning is occurring; and (3) monitoring how fast the storm is approaching your location. It is imperative to reach safe shelter long before the storm is overhead. You should be more concerned with the lightning activity than the rain .4 Lightning can strike far from where it is raining.4,9,10 Prevention is certainly the best policy in reducing the lightning hazard.

For more information about lightning safety, contact the National Lightning Safety Institute, 891 N. Hoover, PO Box 778, Louisville, CO 80027, or see their World Wide Web site on the Internet at: http://www.lightningsafety.com, or e-mail them at rkithil@ix.netcom.com

Acknowledgements

The author is gratefully indebted to Ron Holle, MS, and Radl Lopez, PhD, research meteorologists at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, OK; Richard Kithil, President/CEO, National Lightning Safety Institute, Louisville, CO; Herb Amato, DA, ATC, undergraduate athletic training curriculum director, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA; and Katie Walsh, EdD, ATC, Director of Sports Medicine/Athletic Training, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, for their expertise and for their energetic contributions to the writing of this much-needed policy. And thanks to Steven L. Cole, MEd, ATC, CSCS, Director of Sports Medicine, The College of William and Mary, for the idea.

References

1. Walsh KM, Hanley MJ, Graner SJ, Beam D, Bazluki J. A survey of lightning policy in selected Division I colleges. .I Athl Train. 1997;32: 206-210.
2. McHugh TP. Lightning and electrical injuries. Critical Decisions in Emergency Medicine. 1996;10:8-14.
3. Uman MA. All About Lightning. New York, NY: Dover Publications; 1986:17-23,25-26,43,73-79,104-105,113-115.
4. Vavrek J, Holle RL, Allsopp J, Flash-to-bang. The Earth Scientist. 1993;10(4):3-8.
5. American College of Emergency Physicians. Lightning Myths v. Reality: Facts from the American College of Emergency Physicians. Washington, DC: American College of Emergency Physicians. Brochure.
6. Andrews CJ, Cooper MA, Darveniza M, Mackerras D. Lightning Injuries: Electrical, Medical, and Legal Aspects. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 1992:3-4,10-11,13-14,16-17,118,151-152.
7. Fontanarosa PB. Electrical shock and lightning strike. Ann Emerg Med. 1993;22:378-387.
8. Golde RH. Lightning Protection. New York, NY: Chemical Publishing; 1975:10-11,16,181-194.
9. Holle RL, Lopez RE, Howard KW, Vavrek J, Allsopp J. Safety in the presence of lightning. Semin Neurol. 1995;15:375-380.
10. US. National Weather Service. Thunderstorms and Lightning... the Underrated Killersl A Preparedness Guide. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service; January 1994. Brochure.

Brian L. Bennett is assistant athletic trainer in the Division of Sports Medicine at The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 231870399.

 

Title A Model Lightning Safety Policy for Athletics Author Bennett, B.L. Journal Journal of athletic training (Dallas) Date July/Sept 1997 Volume Issue 32 (3) SIRC Article # 453946 This material has been copied under license from the Publisher. Any resale for profit or further copying is strictly prohibited.

 

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