Tennis Players Suffer in the Heat Served Up at the 2005 US Open
Tennis Players suffering from the heat should have access to Cooling Vests to help prevent heat stress.
(PRWEB) September 1, 2005 -- The hot, humid and hazy New York weather has
already aced many competitors at the 2005 US Open Tennis Championships. Several
players have already shown signs of severe heat stress, with Andy Murray
vomiting on-court, Akiko Morigami taken from the court in a wheelchair, and
Michael Llodra collapsing and taken to hospital. Several players have retired
due to the heat, while other matches have been delayed by players taking several
injury time outs to try and cool down.
How long is there before a serious
life threatening heat related illness occurs at the US Open? Are images of
tennis players collapsing and vomiting providing a good image for the sport? Are
the organizers providing safe working conditions?
The Australian Open
Tennis Championships are also played in the middle of Summer, where on-court
conditions can be much hotter than those experienced at the US Open. Over the
past few years the Australian Tournament organizers have been providing ice cold
Arctic Heat Cooling Vests to help prevent the players suffering from heat
stress. The body cooling vests can be used prior to the match, to pre-cool and
also used during the breaks between games. The Arctic Heat cooling vests help
players to stabilize their core body temperature and will also help players to
reduce the amount of fluids lost through sweat.
Images of athletes
pushing themselves to the limit in the hot, high humidity conditions might be
good for the drama of the US Open event; however these athletes are risking
serious heat illness injuries, even death. The facts are that heat stroke can
kill.
The National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research reports
that 24 football players (19 high school, 3 college and 2 professional) have
died from heatstroke between 1995 and 2004, and another high school football
player has died this summer.
When Athletes sweat at a rate higher than
maximum fluid intake, their bodies struggle to stay cool and their core body
temperature begins to climb. Sports drinks will help with faster re-hydration,
but in many cases you simply can not get the fluids back into the body fast
enough. When the body’s core temperature gets too high, the sweating process
stops and the body starts to shut down. This is a very serious
situation.
The Arctic Heat Cooling Vest was used extensively at the
Athens Olympics, and Internationally by all the major sporting codes, Soccer,
Rugby, Rowing, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Athletics and even the military in
Iraq to name but a few. It would appear that the major US sporting codes are
lagging behind.
Perhaps showcase events like the US Open Tennis, and
other sports such as Baseball, Softball and Football teams should be considering
not only the health of their players who are participating in the heat, but also
the images and messages that are being provided to the general public. The
message at the moment is (when participating in the heat) is to compete hard
until you drop. These sports could be helping to educate the public about the
latest ways to reduce and prevent heat stress.
The lightweight Arctic
Heat Cooling vest uses a two stage cooling process. The vests contain a gel-like
substance that can be frozen or chilled. The cooling vests are manufactured
using Woolmark's Sportwool, a special body cooling fabric which incorporates
Vapor Management Technology helping to wick moisture away from the skin,
allowing the user to keep dry.
The Arctic Heat body cooling vest which is
suitable for industrial, medical and sporting applications, retails for $174.95,
and can be purchased online through the Arctic Heat USA website www.arcticheatusa.com
.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/9/prweb279608.htm