The Yellow Board

The Yellow Board
[ The Yellow Board ]

WBGT

Posted by Not burned out on 5/11/2026, 10:15 am

What plans or changes are high school directors making, or have made, due to the wbgt mandate by UIL? I would imagine in most parts of Texas that after school rehearsals will be almost impossible in Aug/Sept.

Re: WBGT

Posted by anon on 5/19/2026, 8:06 am, in reply to "WBGT"

I teach in the valley and despite the WBGT we usually always use our own schedule. For example, we start inside from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Then from 5:30 p.m. until 7 we give the kids 2 min water breaks every 15 mins. This has worked very well, keeps are kids fresh, in the shade and well hydrated.

Re: WBGT

Posted by We delay on 5/11/2026, 7:17 pm, in reply to "WBGT"

On days when we are under restrictions, we delay the beginning of practice. So if we normally go from 5-7, then we’ll delay the start time to 6 and end at 8.

Re: WBGT

Posted by Yeah... on 5/12/2026, 4:19 pm, in reply to "Re: WBGT"

...it must be nice to be able to do that. We go from 6-8, but if I dismiss at 8:01, all of the school board members, superintendent, and principal get phone calls (literally). If I delayed the start, I would still be expected to end at 7:59.

As for the question at hand, we started officially looking at the wet bulb two years ago along with athletics when the state said to implement a policy. Prior to that, we used "best judgement"...which the now official policy really didn't differ much from...just using the WBGT now instead of the heat index. So far we've only been in the Orange Zone once, usually yellow or white.

Re: WBGT

Posted by Wettest of bulbs on 5/11/2026, 6:06 pm, in reply to "WBGT"

We've been following this for 2 years. For the first few weeks of school we start rehearsal at 6PM. (school is out at 4). Even then we have to start indoors some days. We do "quiet band hall" after school to encourage kids to get their homework done between school and band.

Summer band we start rehearsal at 7AM. As soon as August 1 hit we were learning dots. We had over half of the show on the field by the first day of school. Once school starts, lots of time in class doing reps with marking time and stepping out to ingrain muscle memory of the count structure.

Re: WBGT

Posted by HCBD on 5/11/2026, 2:02 pm, in reply to "WBGT"

We have been following it for a couple years now and honestly it has only slightly altered our plans a handful of times. WBGT is NOT the outside Temperature - it factors in a bunch of things, so at first glance it looks pretty restrictive but it hasn't been to bad for us. (Central, Tx)

Take a look at what WBGT really is and plan some extra water breaks and a cooling zone and it will be "just what you do" before long.

At the end of the day it is a safer environment for kids, and while I can definitely argue its a bit extreme than what I think is necessary, it has not really messed with us much.

Re: WBGT

Posted by Yes, But on 5/12/2026, 8:42 am, in reply to "Re: WBGT"

It depends on where you are. We are a little further south and we hit that indoor mark EVERY AFTERNOON.
Also, I would just like to add that if all of us are really worried about the safest environment, then maybe UIL should cut back on the 8 hour rule???

Re: WBGT

Posted by Respectfully on 5/12/2026, 9:02 pm, in reply to "Re: WBGT"

No one's forced to practice for 8 hours. You can choose to practice for 4, or 6.

Re: WBGT

Posted by Yes on 5/18/2026, 11:04 am, in reply to "Re: WBGT"

Yes, we've all heard that argument from the competitive programs. Not once did I say we are forced to do that much and in fact, we don't. I'm saying that if UIL is genuinely concerned about safety, then maybe they need to do a little more and revisit this rule from decades ago.

Re: WBGT

Posted by Okay... on 5/18/2026, 1:52 pm, in reply to "Re: WBGT"

...you need to stop conflating things (that, or it was just a way to cheap shot the "competitive" programs; in that case knock it off anyway). The fall season in Texas is hot, and it has been that way since God talked to Moses. The kids need to learn how to acclimate to the climate, and revisiting the 8 Hour Rule will not change that. The use of the WBGT is the best way to determine when hot becomes too hot...and if you need to continue rehearsal indoors, that time still counts toward your 8.

« Back to index

[ The Yellow Board ]