Cooling vests to protect footballers from the heat
It’s August. It’s summer. It’s hot and it’s kickoff time across the country when preseason soccer practice begins. Players will expect to warm up and sweat as their coaches try to get them in shape. However, a combination of hot/humid weather, tough conditioning drills, and players not used to practicing in the heat, can make August a deadly and dangerous month.
Despite all the warnings, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research reports that 24 football players (19 high school, 3 college, and 2 professional) have died from heat stroke since 1995.
The main problem associated with exercising in hot weather is water loss through sweat. However, drinking water is simply not enough. In extremely hot weather, the body will sweat at a faster rate than the system can absorb the water. So how can we reduce the amount of sweating and at the same time help the body regulate its core body temperature?
The answer is the Arctic Heat Body Cooling Vest. A cool, lightweight vest that will not only help protect athletes from heat-related illness, but will also allow them to work harder for longer.
The Arctic Heat Cooling Vest was originally developed for soccer players in Australia and is now used by international teams in all other major soccer codes around the world. Rugby league, rugby union, soccer and Australian rules football use the cooling vest to protect their athletes and improve their performance. It was also used at the Athens Olympics by all the major sports nations, including many of the US teams. The military in Iraq is even using Arctic Heat cooling vests.
“The Arctic Heat Cooling Vest, designed for soccer, will legally enhance performance and also help protect the health of athletes,” said Dr. John Surie, President of Arctic Heat USA.
The Icy Cooler Vest can be worn under game uniforms, used as a pre-cooling device before conditioning exercises, and used as a recovery tool between or after sessions.
However, so far inquiries from local football teams have been limited. “There seems to be a different mentality in football that you have to make the players run hard and make them sweat to toughen them up. We think it’s better to calm down and encourage the athletes. Most of the other sporting codes in the world are now on board. agreement with us,” said Dean Sainsbury of Arctic Heat.
Arctic Heat have also developed a range of unique cooling blankets and cooling caps that can be used to immediately treat players who have overheated. “The cooling caps can be used during a game to cool down the players. When they get to the bench, they can take off their helmets, put on the cooling cap and cool down,” said Dr. Surie.
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. Cooling Gilets are made from Woolmark’s Sportwool, a special body cooling fabric that incorporates vapor management technology, which helps wick moisture away from the skin, allowing the wearer to stay dry.