The heat is on across the Central Coast, including in Paso Robles.
When temps climb, districts like the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District rely on the Real-Time Outdoor Activity Risk, or ROAR, guidelines.
“It looks at the temperature and gives us some guidelines on what activities children should participate in,” said Paso Robles Joint Unified School District nurse Ashley Aiello. “As it approaches up to in the 90s and, often here over 100º, we have different guidelines where we will cancel after-school athletics or modify our P.E., so our kids aren’t out in the direct heat.”
By the time KSBY caught up with Aiello around noon on Wednesday, the decision had already been made to cancel cross country and flag football practice at the elementary level.
“We really want to protect our children and make sure that they are safe while they’re at school,” Aiello said. “Heatstroke is real, and so we just need to monitor students for heat exhaustion and keep them indoor when it’s just too hot to be exercising.”
No one on the Central Coast was exempt from the scorching sunrays, and outdoor sports athletes, like Paso Robles High School track runner Jameson Cerda, know firsthand how miserable it can be out on the track in the heat.
“You just get, like, so much more tired,” he said. “You’re all sweaty, gross…it just sucks. It feels like you have to take breaks all the time. It’s really unenjoyable.”
For high school athletes, the school uses the CIF Extreme Heat and Air Quality Policy, where levels are determined by the WetBulb Globe Temperature.
That temp differs from the Heat Index and is a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, taking into account: temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover.
“We have a Perry Weather station, and we use that to determine our WetBulb Globe Temperature readings, and that is a calculation of a few things that helps us determine whether or not it’s safe to practice or play,” said Kevin Williams, Paso Robles High School athletic trainer.
Williams said that while no sports games were scheduled Wednesday, coaches and teams did push back practice start times.
