Each team coach is the directly responsible person for the safety of the group of players they have care over and must act accordingly in adverse weather conditions to protect every player from harm.
Should there be any lightning within a 10 mile radius of a training/game facility, all activities are suspended. Coaches will instruct all players to seek shelter in covered facilities or in cars as appropriate and available. Activities may resume once 30 minutes have passed from the final lightning strike within the 10 mile radius.
Always use common sense when it comes to weather risk. Though the technology solutions available to all coaches are very good tools, they are not 100% foolproof. If you see lightning and/or hear thunder, and your weather app does not match what you are observing, again, err on the side of caution and seek shelter.
Automatic Weather Detection Technology
Depending on the site of the practice/game, a lightning detection technology may be on-site, at which time, coaches and teams should defer to its technology as the primary for that facility and act accordingly. If there is no one designated on-site, that responsibility falls to the coach (volunteer or contract) to make a call and communicate with their team.
Absence of Automatic Weather Detection Technology at Facility
Each contract coach should be equipped with a WeatherSentry phone application, a fee-for-service adverse weather detection phone application that provides some of the industry’s best lightning and adverse weather condition detection. While other phone applications can provide some level of basic understanding, if the WeatherSentry phone application is available through an individual on-site, the WeatherSentry application will take precedence over all other phone applications in decision-making.
This policy is primarily written to address lighting, as that is the most prevalent safety risk that occurs in Colorado. However, if extreme wind, hail, tornadoes, blizzards, or any other weather event that may endanger players occurs, you must clear fields to assure the safety of all players.