Welcome to the Safety Page

Santa Clara Westside Little League’s (“Westside LL or SCWLL”) priority is Safety First! The entire Westside LL community must work together to ensure that games, practices, and other events remain safe – and therefore fun – for all Westside LL players.

The Westside LL President and Safety Officer have primary responsibility for developing, implementing, and ensuring compliance with the Safety Plan. However, the entire Westside LL Board of Directors, elected League Officers, and Board Approved Managers and Coaches share in the responsibility to ensure awareness and compliance with the Safety Plan relative to their respective position or office.

Westside LL values contributions from the community. Please report any conditions observed that appear unsafe, or provide any suggestions for enhancing safety, to the Westside LL League Safety Officer at [email protected]

Hot Weather Policy

To help prevent heat related illness, Westside LL is adopting a Heat Index based approach to suspending league activity during periods of excessive heat. In all cases, Managers should use their discretion and err on the side of caution if there is any question about safety.

Actual Temperature or Heat Index (whichever is greater) shall be used to determine thresholds for play. Heat Index shall be determined by accuweather.com (ReelFeel temperature) or weather.com (Feels Like temperature) entering zip code 95050. During periods of increased heat, Managers should check the forecast and make a judgment to cancel practice ahead of time should the forecasted temperatures exceed the thresholds. If the forecast is below the threshold, managers should check temperatures closer to game/practice time to confirm it’s still OK to play.

During Spring Ball, Managers may propose to reschedule a canceled game, schedule permitting. During Fall Ball, canceled games will not be rescheduled due to the compressed schedule of the Fall Season.

Temperature / Heat Index	Precautions
Under 95 degrees F	Kids should be well hydrated prior to game/practice. Allow Frequent water/shade breaks during practice. Monitor kids for signs of exhaustion or stress (see safety manual).
95 - 99 degrees F	Same as above plus: During Practice - Mandatory Water breaks every 20 minutes in shaded area. During Games - encourage hydration in dugout while on offense. Allow kids water when requested Recheck Heat Index at every water break, suspending practice if it exceeds 100 degrees F (Manager/Umpire check every 2 innings during games) Consider alternate practice options, limiting practice duration, more off field drills in shaded areas. Alert parents of the possibility of cutting practice short.
100 degrees F or higher	Suspend practice/games. If in progress, alert parents to pickup kids, keep team in shaded area until picked up.

Air Quality Policy

Air quality can fluctuate quickly. The air quality can be very different in certain locations. We ask our managers to check AQI via purpleair.com for the location closest to the practice/game that day. Our managers are instructed to cancel games/practices if AQI is around 150 or higher. If the AQI is 100-150, practices/games will be optional for players. If the AQI is less than 100 the practice/game will continue as scheduled.

Generally, we ask our managers to check the AQI at about 3 pm for weekday practices and 1-2 hours prior to weekend practices/games. They should provide parents an update via TeamSnap with instructions on how to proceed around that time.

We realize that a lower AQI could quickly change into a much higher number while the players are at the field. If parents would rather keep their child home and not take the risk, the coaches will fully support the parent’s decision. The AQI could also decrease significantly after a decision has been made, leaving parents wondering why we cancelled. We must inform both parents and coaches in advance to provide time for planning and driving.