Weather-Ready Coaching: Protecting Our Athletes in a Changing Climate
- Sarah Hébert
- 2d
- 3 min read
Weather awareness is a fundamental safety skill for sports leaders. By understanding the differences between weather watches, warnings, and advisories, coaches can better protect their athletes and make smart, timely decisions about outdoor activities.
We’ve all heard the old-school mindset before—or maybe even said it ourselves: "Back in my day, we trained no matter the conditions."
But the reality is, the conditions simply aren't the same anymore. With rising summer temperatures and increasingly unpredictable air quality, the "tough it out" mentality is no longer safe or sustainable.
In this month's blog post, we want to share some valuable resources and information about how climate change is shifting athlete safety, and how you can update your protocols to provide a safer sports environment for every participant.
Essential Safety Resources & Insights
(Coaching Association of Canada)
This comprehensive hub serves as an excellent starting point for any sports organization. Developed in partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada, it outlines a simple "Prepare, Monitor, Action" framework. It details Canada’s color-coded alert system so you can make informed choices before stepping onto the field.
If you need quick, actionable references to share with your coaching staff or parents, they provide five highly practical one-pager guides.
These downloadable tools give targeted safety steps for specific environmental hazards, helping you manage:
Extreme Heat & Humidity
Air Quality Health Index (AQHI)
Lightning Safety
UV Index
Extreme Cold & Wind Chill
(Sport Information Resource Centre)
This article focuses on the macro-level shifts happening across the Canadian sports landscape. It explores how sports administrators and communities are adjusting to changing seasons, shifting playing conditions, and the growing organizational responsibility to incorporate climate risk management directly into sport policy.
(Dr. Madeleine Orr, University of Toronto)
For an evidence-based look at the future of athletics, the research compiled by Dr. Madeleine Orr—a leading expert in sport ecology—is vital. Her work investigates how escalating climate vulnerability impacts scheduling, athlete safety, and venue sustainability. It provides crucial context on what sports will look like in the decades to come and how we can proactively adapt.
We also had the chance to discuss her work on our Sporting Change podcast.
Find the episodes on “The Ultimate Warming” below:
(Team Canada Impact Agenda)
Showing how top-tier organizations are taking the lead, the COC's official Climate Action Plan outlines a clear roadmap to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2040. Crucially for grassroots leaders, it details funding, pilot projects, and grants supporting athlete-led sustainability initiatives across Canada, proving that environmental safety and high performance go hand-in-hand.
Takeaway for Coaches
Safe sport isn't just about what happens on the field or in the locker room—it's also about respecting the environment we play in. Make sure you have clear, objective guidelines laid out in your code of conduct stating exactly when a practice will be canceled or shifted indoors depending on the weather (for example: if it hits a certain temperature, practice moves indoors with AC or is canceled entirely).
To protect your athletes, download a local weather monitoring app (like WeatherCAN), ensure your Emergency Action Plan (EAP) includes these specific environmental protocols, and help your team stay one step ahead of the elements.
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