Dealing with the heat

Dealing with heat is an issue that rowers have to face.

FISA sports medicine commission member, Tomislav Smoljanovic is part of the team that helped monitor the conditions at the under-23 championships and he says that at regattas FISA follows predetermined directives for dealing with hot weather. “We observe on a regular basis the temperature and the percentage humidity and we time the racing schedule around it,” says Smoljanovic. “We avoid the warmest parts of the day and in Linz that was between 13:00 and 16:00 hours.”

A FISA specified ‘red zone,’ which is determined from a mixture of heat and humidity, requires that racing does not take place during this time. For the under-23 championships the weather got close to this zone.
“We had minor problems in the cool down area (following races), but nothing major,” says Smoljanovic.
Problems for the athletes can occur due to dehydration and Smoljanovic emphasises that hydration before and after racing is vitally important. This is especially relevant for lightweight rowers that sometimes cut down their fluid intake and go for ‘sweat runs’ to get to the required racing weight.

“If you are dehydrated, for example a lightweight rower, it makes it hard to perform and harder to cool down after racing because there is less fluid for your body to use to cool down,” says Smoljanovic. “Body temperature is about 36 degrees Celsius and racing can bring that level to 38 or even 39 degrees Celsius.”

It is also important to go for a cool-down row after racing. “The worst is to stop immediately,” says Smoljanovic, “because you need to keep circulation going in your body as blood circulation helps cool the body.”

The main advice: keep drinking and wear appropriate clothes.