What was supposed to be a highlight of the frosh/soph football team’s season — the first high school contest for many of its athletes — ended up being a disappointing trudge as their Aug. 21 game against Sonora High School in La Habra was cancelled due to temperatures in the mid-90s and a high WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), which measures heat stress on the human body.  

The football team was just one of many Brea Olinda High School sports affected by the recent heat wave. From Aug. 18 to 22, girls’ tennis, girls’ volleyball, flag football, and boys’ and girls’ soccer experienced either cancelled games or practices as result of the high temperatures, which reached a high of 97 degrees Aug. 22.

Girls’ varsity tennis was scheduled to play a match – also their first of the season – against El Dorado High School at BOHS Aug. 19 until the Golden Hawks canceled due to the rising temperatures. In addition to the matches, the team’s practices were canceled throughout the week as well. 

Two days later, a home game for varsity and an away game for junior varsity against Kennedy High School was also called off. 

While the cancelled matches were a letdown for players who had long-anticipated the season-opening contests, the biggest impact was the missed opportunity to improve. 

“Having no practice the week prior to three matches will definitely affect our performance in game,” JV tennis player Allison Chun (‘28) said. 

In the extreme heat, some tennis athletes, like varsity’s Katelyn Wang (‘29), prioritized their health.

“I stayed safe by staying hydrated, wearing a visor, and wearing sunscreen,” Wang said. “And I went under the shade to stay cool.”

Another program affected by the cancellations was girls’ flag football, whose scheduled game against Villa Park High School was called off, a disappointing disruption after their season-opening win against Santa Ana Valley High School Aug. 18. 

“It definitely did push back our team momentum,” Ariel Diaz Trinidad (‘28) said, “but knowing my team, it’s very possible to get back to where we were, and possibly even better.”

Girls’ and boys’ soccer practices were moved indoors to coach’s classrooms for film study. 

“I was disappointed,” boys’ soccer player Brandon Wang (‘28) said. “But since soccer is in off-season conditioning, I’m relieved that it doesn’t affect our regular practices that start in October.” 

Boys’ and girls’ cross country circumvented the high temperatures by moving their practice times from sixth period to 6 a.m., when runners could be seen running up and down Wildcat Way Aug. 21 and 22. 

Despite the adjustment, varsity runner Michael Valenti (‘28) expressed concern about how the schedule changes could affect his team’s performance. 

“These training sessions are so early in the morning,” Valenti said. “We can’t do longer runs or harder workouts like we’re used to, and we can’t progress as fast.”

Decisions regarding practices and games were made by each school site’s coaches, athletic directors, and principals. 

On Aug. 19, Brea Olinda Unified School District (BOUSD) sent an email to the community emphasizing the “well-being of [students] and staff.” The district explained that precautions throughout the district include:

• Moving PE, recess and/or lunch activities indoors.
• Modifying athletics in accordance with the County’s Hot Weather Guidelines for Athletic Practice.
• Encouraging students to take frequent rest and water breaks in shaded and/or indoor areas.

For the student-athletes on BOHS’s frosh/soph football team, their first official high school game will have to wait one more week when they face Diamond High School Sept. 4.

“We were so excited to play the game,” Liam Gardner (‘29) said. “We were all bummed – and I just wanted to play my first ever high school game. But at the same time, it was relieving because of how hot it was that day.”

Ken McCall, athletic trainer and Patient Care Pathway teacher, and the athletic trainers from Sonora High School, were the ones to call off the game based on CIF guidelines. 

“Because we’re taking good measures, and because we are adamant about following the CIF guidelines and protocols, we have had no cases of any student athletes needing medical help, whether it’s heat exhaustion or any heat illnesses,” McCall told the Wildcat. “We do the best we can to get [student athletes] to shade and use ice bags or soak their superficial arteries in water. If it was a severe heat illness we would’ve submerged them into a tub of cold water.” 

As the National Weather Service’s Extreme Heat Warning continues through Aug. 24, BOUSD advises residents to protect themselves from extreme temperatures by staying hydrated, wearing “light, loose-fitting clothing,” and taking “frequent rest and refreshment breaks in shaded areas.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story attributed the cancellations to a high Ultraviolet (UV) Index when, in fact, the cancellations were due to a high WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT). The Wildcat regrets the error.