Tennessee school sports heat policy
TSSAA’s policy, written as a requirement, has each school take a WBGT or heat-index reading and lists every practice limit under both readings. How to read these labels
- Association
- TSSAA (Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association)
- Label
- Required: WBGT or heat index
- Reading it uses
- WBGT or heat index
- Statewide table
- Yes, shown below
- Last checked
- October 1, 2026
What TSSAA’s document says
The policy cited below is written as a requirement.
TSSAA’s heat policy opens: “Each school is responsible for obtaining either a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature or Heat Index reading at the site of practices and competitions.” It adds that WBGT “should be a school’s first choice when evaluating conditions and planning activities”. TSSAA’s policy puts 92 °F in its one-hour band (“WBGT 90 to 92”) and stops outdoor practice “Above 92.0 WBGT”. This card starts that top band at 92.0 °F, a tenth of a degree earlier.
- < 82°FNormal activity
Normal activities. Provide 3+ rest breaks per hour (≥3 min each); unlimited water.
- 82 to under 87°FUse discretion
Use discretion for intense or prolonged exercise; watch at-risk athletes. 3+ rest breaks/hour (≥4 min each).
- 87 to under 90°FReduced: cap 2 h
Cap practice at 2 hours. Football: helmet, shoulder pads, and shorts only (pads off for conditioning). 4+ rest breaks/hour (≥4 min).
- 90 to under 92°FLimited: cap 1 h
Cap practice at 1 hour. No protective equipment and no conditioning. ~20 min of rest breaks across the hour.
- ≥ 92°FCancel outdoor activity
No outdoor workouts: delay or cancel until the WBGT drops to a cooler level.
This is a plain-language summary to help you plan. It is not legal advice, and it is not the association’s document. Associations revise these policies often. Confirm what currently applies with your school, district or association.
What else to know
- In its one-hour band, TSSAA says “There must be 20 minutes of rest breaks distributed throughout the hour of practice and no conditioning activities”, and that the hour includes those breaks.
- In its top band, TSSAA says games, “including preseason scrimmages and jamborees, must be postponed” unless a qualified health care professional, such as an athletic trainer, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or doctor, is on site with a cold-water immersion tub or other rapid cooling.
- TSSAA says a cold-water immersion tub or other rapid on-site cooling “should be available for all warm weather practices”, and that an athlete with suspected heat stroke should be cooled on site by immersion before going to the hospital.
- TSSAA pairs each WBGT band with a heat-index range, which this page does not show. If your school takes heat-index readings, use TSSAA’s own heat-index ranges, since the WBGT numbers here will not line up with them.
How to read this
Each row is a range of WBGT readings, and every reading falls in exactly one row. A range like “82 to under 87°F” includes the first number and stops just below the second. The short activity notes in each row are a general guide, worded the same on every state page. TSSAA’s document may word its limits differently or add rest breaks, equipment and water rules, so open it for the exact rules.
Before you rely on this
- This page summarizes TSSAA’s document. It does not replace it. If they differ, go by the document and by the policy your school or league has adopted.
- Confirm what currently applies with your school, district or association. Many schools adopt their own version.
- Any WBGT number WetBulbTracker shows is a modeled estimate for planning, not an official reading. Where a policy calls for an on-site reading, that reading governs.
- This page does not replace an athletic trainer’s judgment.
Live heat readings in Tennessee
Suggest a correction
Associations update these documents, often before the fall season. If something here is wrong or out of date, send us a link to the current document and we will re-check it.
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