Cancel Status – What to Do

Key Points

  • A red Cancel status means that at least one key factor—heat, air quality, cold, lightning, or heavy rain—is in a range where outdoor practice presents a high risk to athlete health and safety.

    At this level, practice should be:

    Cancelled, or moved fully indoors to a safe space, in line with your school or league policy.

    This is not the time for “optional” outdoor workouts, captains’ practices, or “just a quick session.”

When you’ll usually see a Cancel status
You’re most likely to see Cancel when:
  • Heat index is in a dangerously high range, where exertional heat illness risk is very high.
  • Air Quality Index is in the Unhealthy range or higher.
  • Wind-chill is at extreme cold levels where frostbite and hypothermia can develop quickly.
  • Thunderstorms are present nearby, or rain is heavy enough to severely affect safety and visibility.
Immediate actions on a Cancel day
When Practice-Day Alerts shows Cancel, coaches and ADs should:
  1. Stop any outdoor activity under your supervision.
  2. Move athletes indoors to a safe, enclosed building (not just covered stands or dugouts).
  3. Notify athletes and parents that outdoor practice is cancelled or moved indoors.
  4. Use the opportunity for indoor work where appropriate (film, chalk talk, strategy, safe conditioning), if your policies allow.
If extreme heat is the main issue
When heat index is extremely high:
  • Do not hold conditioning-heavy outdoor practices.
  • Move all activity indoors if you can adequately cool the space.
  • Avoid full pads, full-speed scrimmages, and high-intensity exertion even indoors if the gym is hot and poorly ventilated.
  • Pay special attention to younger athletes, new athletes, or those with prior heat illness history.
If you cannot provide a reasonably cool, safe indoor environment, the best choice is to cancel practice entirely.
If air quality is the main issue
When AQI is in the Unhealthy range or worse:
  • Avoid vigorous outdoor activity for all athletes.
  • Move to indoor practice only if the building has reasonably clean indoor air.
  • Athletes with asthma, lung, or heart conditions should avoid strenuous exertion even indoors if air quality is poor.
On these days, it is usually safest to:
  • Cancel intense training,
  • Shift to film, classroom work, or light indoor walkthroughs with minimal exertion, or
  • Fully cancel if indoor air is also poor.
If lightning or severe storms are the main issue
When thunderstorms or severe weather are present:
  • Immediately suspend all outdoor activity.
  • Move athletes and staff to a substantial indoor shelter (full building) or a fully enclosed vehicle. Dugouts, pavilions, and open-sided shelters are not considered safe lightning shelters.
  • Follow your local lightning policy. Many schools use rules similar to the “30-minute rule”: wait at least 30 minutes after the last sound of thunder before considering a return outdoors.
On a Cancel day for lightning, the safest choice is to treat the entire scheduled practice time as indoors only or canceled.
If extreme cold is the main issue
When wind-chill is extremely low:
  • Do not keep athletes outdoors for full-length practice.
  • Move to indoor spaces whenever possible (gym, indoor track, weight room).
  • Avoid situations where athletes are standing still in wind, in wet clothing, or without adequate layers.
If no safe indoor option is available, cancel practice rather than forcing athletes to train in extreme cold.
Communicating a Cancel day
On a red Cancel day, a coach or AD might tell athletes and parents:
  • “Because of today’s heat/air quality/cold/lightning, outdoor practice is cancelled for safety reasons.”
  • “If we are able to meet indoors, we will use that time for film, strategy, or light walkthroughs.”
  • “Thank you for understanding—this is about keeping athletes safe first.”
Clear, consistent messaging helps parents and athletes understand that cancellations are based on health and safety, not punishment or convenience.
Why we treat Cancel so seriously
Our Cancel recommendations reflect public guidance from:
  • National Weather Service (NWS) on heat, wind-chill, thunderstorms, and lightning safety.
  • National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) and NFHS on environmental risks in youth and high school sports.
  • U.S. EPA/AirNow on air quality health categories.
For more detail on thresholds and data sources, see the About & Methodology page.
Reminder: follow your local policy
Our Modify guidance is built from public recommendations by NWS, NATA, NFHS, and EPA/AirNow, but your district or league policy always comes first. If your written policy is stricter, follow that policy.
Practice-Day Alerts is advisory and cannot see every factor on your field. When in doubt, treat a borderline Modify day more like Cancel and move practice indoors or reschedule.
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