Last weekend I competed in the 18+ USTA Sectional League Championships in Texas. We are in the middle of a heat wave and the temperature was much hotter than usual this year. Yesterday we examined the calendar constraints that force this event to be conducted in August. Today’s post dwells on some additional ideas that emerged last weekend to improve the player experience when it is so darn hot.
Three matches at my Saturday site ended in a heat-related retirement. Interestingly enough, quite a few players characterized those issues as “medical events.” However, there was no need to summon an ambulance and to the best of my knowledge, none of the players required subsequent medical care. Absent those things, I would not consider any match retirements to be medical events.
In fact, the three retirements are actually one of the best outcomes under the circumstances. Ideally, no one would be impacted by the heat and finish every match. However, it is also a good outcome that players and team captains were exercising good judgment regarding playing decisions. The match retirements showed that, at least at my site, the players managed the situation well enough that no one approached the danger zone. That isn’t a bad outcome.
I also heard the suggestion that USTA Texas should have engaged medical support for each playing location. With 8 sites over a three-day weekend, that’s a lot of people to line up. There is no way that could be adequately covered by volunteers, so the USTA would have to pay for those services. I don’t want to see the League registration fees raised to cover that expense.
Finally, I also heard some comments that the USTA should have had more ice at each site. The pre-Sectionals communication sent directly to each player outlined the expectation that players were to bring their own ice. While the USTA had some ice on hand, I think that it is a better use of resources to let each player and team manage what they need for themselves.
Finally, I promised a hot take of my own to round out this weekend. Clearly, some teams performed better in the heat than others. In some cases, roster size influenced that significantly. However, I believe that there was another factor in play last weekend.
I think that the teams that performed best in the conditions were those that recently completed their league season and playoffs during the summer heat. They were acclimated physiologically. They also had recent experience and knowledge of how to equip themselves for the heat.
Some teams that finished their league season last Spring wilted in the heat. Another team that won a summer league told me that their matches were conducted in the evening when the temperatures are cooler than in the daytime. I HAVE NOT looked at the data to see if there is any correlation, and it would be hard to scrape that off the USTA Tennislink site since many leagues do not include scheduled match times.
However, if I were a team captain heading into 18+ Sectionals next August, I would schedule or encourage my team to play some practice matches in the summer heat to get used to the conditions prior to the event. It’s much easier to stop a practice match than retire from one at Sectionals. I don’t see the downside of intentionally seeking the heat when practicing before something like that.
Under the circumstances, I think USTA Texas did an outstanding job with the Sectional Championships. It was brutally hot. It will probably be hot next year, too. There isn’t anything that can be done about the calendar. However, there is something we can all do to be better prepared next year.
