HIGH HEAT INDEX ADVISORY

Published October 01, 2026

All CSBC Contests Schedule for October 3, 2026

Student safety is the first priority at every CSBC event. Elevated heat requires advance preparation and active monitoring throughout the day. Please share this advisory with directors, staff, students, families, volunteers, and event personnel before arrival.

Marching Band creates significant heat exposure. Wool and heavy uniforms trap heat. Carrying instruments and equipment increases physical effort. Long warm-ups and staging waits extend time in the sun. Metal instruments, harnesses, and equipment can become hot enough to cause injury.

Do not ask anyone to push through symptoms or remain in formation when they need water, shade, or medical attention.

COMPETING SCHOOLS: DIRECTORS AND STAFF

Before the event:

Directors are the decision makers for their programs. Each program and individual tolerances may differ from event decision. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to decide what is best for your program.
Review the forecast and prepare for changes to warm-up, staging, uniforms, and performance times.
Arrange a lightweight uniform option if possible. Plan to keep jackets, shakos, and other heavy layers off until needed and remove them promptly after performance.
- If an ensemble chooses to perform in an alternate uniform such as band t-shirts and shorts, rest assured that scoring will not be impacted nor any penalties will be assessed.
Bring refillable water bottles for every student, extra drinking water, and cooling supplies. Confirm where water refills, shaded rest areas, and medical services will be available.
Identify students who need closer monitoring, including those with recent illness, previous heat illness, limited heat acclimatization, or relevant medical conditions. Follow their individual health plans.
Assign adults to monitor students during warm-up, staging, performance, and recovery. Review how to reach event medical personnel.

During the event:

Keep warm-ups short and reduce physical intensity. Avoid repeated full runs in the heat.
Schedule frequent water and cooling breaks. Students must be able to drink before they feel thirsty.
Keep students in shade or a cooled space until staging staff are ready for them.
Provide help moving heavy equipment. Store instruments and equipment out of direct sun when possible. Check metal surfaces, harnesses, and handles before use.
Use a buddy system, supported by adult supervision. Check students after performance, when symptoms may become more apparent.
Stop a student’s activity immediately if symptoms appear. Notify event medical personnel. Do not return the student to warm-up or performance without medical assessment and clearance.

STUDENTS AND FAMILIES

Arrive rested, eat regular meals, and begin the day hydrated. Drink water regularly throughout the event.
Wear lightweight clothing when out of uniform. Use sunscreen and a sun hat when appropriate.
Take cooling breaks between activities. Families and spectators should also use shade and water. We strongly recommend bringing an umbrella for the bleachers.
Report headache, dizziness, nausea, cramps, or unusual weakness immediately. Tell an adult if a teammate appears unwell.
Do not leave an ill student alone or send them to the medical area without an adult.

CONTEST HOSTS: VENUE AND EVENT ORGANIZERS

Before gates open:

Provide accessible drinking water and refill stations near warm-up, staging, and performance areas. Check supplies throughout the event. (We suggest having 5-gallon ice water jugs at designated “hydration stations” for students to refill reusable water bottles).
Establish clearly marked shaded rest areas and a cooled recovery space. Tell schools where these are located before arrival (you know your campus better than your visitors).
Arrange qualified medical coverage. Confirm the emergency response plan, ambulance access, and supplies for rapid cooling, including cold-water immersion when directed by trained medical personnel.
Assign a person to monitor conditions and a person authorized to modify or stop activities. Brief staging crews, announcers, volunteers, and school contacts.

During the event:

Communicate with your designated Head Judge regularly.
Recognize that heat index describes shaded conditions. Direct sun, hot turf or pavement, heavy uniforms, and physical exertion can increase risk.
Shorten staging waits. Move waiting groups into shade and provide water access during delays.
Communicate changes promptly through CSBC via the Head Judge.
Monitor volunteers and spectators as well as performers. Respond to unsafe conditions or symptoms even before a listed threshold is reached.
For turf fields, coordinate watering of the field during breaks to reduce the temperature of the performance surface. Arrange this in advance with site grounds crews.

RECOGNIZE HEAT ILLNESS AND ACT

Possible heat exhaustion: Headache, dizziness, nausea, heavy sweating, muscle cramps, or unusual weakness.

Stop activity. Move the person to a shaded or cooled area. Remove heavy uniform layers and equipment. Apply cool, wet towels and contact medical personnel promptly. Offer small sips of cool water only if the person is fully alert, can swallow, and is not vomiting. Stay with them. Call 911 if symptoms worsen or they lose consciousness.

Possible heat stroke: Confusion, unusual behavior, slurred speech, staggering, collapse, seizures, or loss of consciousness. The person may still be sweating.

Call 911 and alert event medical personnel immediately. Begin cooling while help is on the way. Remove heavy layers and equipment. Use cold water and wet towels over as much of the body as possible. Trained medical personnel should initiate rapid whole-body cooling, preferably cold-water immersion when available. Do not give fluids to anyone who is confused or unconscious. Do not wait for a temperature reading before acting.

A performance schedule must never delay treatment.

Thank you for taking these precautions seriously and helping protect every student, staff member, volunteer, and spectator.

HEAD JUDGES:

Head Judges will work with site contest coordinators to make any necessary changes to the schedule using guidance from the Field Conditions and Emergency Operations section on page 12 of the official CSBC Contest Rules & Procedures manual.

California State Band Championships

10/01/2026