Weather and Lightning Policy

Colorado United follows the South Suburban Parks and Recreation policy for inclement weather. Should the fields close prior to 3 pm, this website and the club's social media accounts, https://twitter.com/counitedsoccer, will be updated accordingly. Should inclement weather arrive after 3 p.m. it becomes the coach's discretion whether to have practice or not. Please keep in mind that it may be inclement in one area of town, but not at practice sites, and weather conditions can change quickly. Coaches or team managers should follow up with the team should practice gets cancelled.

Colorado United Lightning Policy

Lightning Safety

1. Coaches, please download the FREE Weather Bug App. If you don’t have a smartphone, have a parent on your team be responsible for downloading/monitoring.
2. Click the Spark tab at the bottom of the page. If lighting strikes are detected within 10 miles all players and coaches must seek shelter.
3. Once the Spark tab shows that there are no lightning strikes within 10 miles away, players must wait 30 minutes to return to the fields. (If lightning strikes are detected again within 10 miles, the 30 minute clock starts again)

What to do?

1. All players must get into a car immediately!
2. Training is considered finished if there is less than 45 minutes left in training when lightning is detected.
3. Parents should provide shelter for players as soon as possible once lightning is detected.
4. Please do not drop off children if there is a weather delay!
5. If threatening weather is present, please remain at the field until the conclusion of training or practice.

Colorado United Cold Weather Policy

The human body’s ability to maintain heat is significantly less efficient than its ability to lose heat. Any warm object, like a human being, will lose heat when exposed to cold air, because we cool faster than we warm. Adding wind speed to colder temperatures rapidly increases body cooling. Wind chill temperature is how cold people feel when outside, taking into consideration the effect of existing wind speed. 

This table demonstrates that a cool temperature easily becomes much cooler with the addition of wind. This can be very dangerous for our young athletes who are playing outdoors in these conditions.

It is important to note that the following guidelines for activity and associated limitations apply only in the absence of precipitation and age considerations. Precipitation, most notably rain and snow, will affect the risk of environmental cold injury. It is unclear in the literature at exactly what rate of rain or snowfall, in conjunction with the air temperature and wind speed, conditions become unsafe.

However, it is clear that precipitation significantly increases the risk of environmental cold injury. Therefore, in weather conditions involving precipitation, decisions about participation restrictions will be made by the on-site athletic trainer on a case-by-case basis considering current weather conditions. This will take into account available shelter, on-site warming capabilities, and active

precipitation. Also, consideration for activity modification or cancellation will be made by the on-site athletic trainer based on participants’ age since younger athletes can be more vulnerable to environmental cold injuries.

If an athletic trainer is unavailable, it is the responsibility of the on-site coach to monitor the weather conditions. The on-site coach may designate a weather watcher if unable to check weather conditions on a regular basis. The weather watcher/coach will utilize WeatherBug®, Storm by Weather Underground mobile app, or equivalent resource which provides live and forecast data on hyperlocal weather to determine location temperatures.

Cold weather practice recommendations:

• Outside participation limited to 45 minutes – Temperature or wind chill, whichever is lower, reaches 25˚F. If precipitation is present, the time on the field may need to be modified or suspended when taking into consideration the effects of precipitation in cold temperatures.
• Termination of outside participation – Temperature or wind chill, whichever is lower, reaches 15˚F.

Administrative Regulation: Outdoor Competition Cold Weather

• Decisions to postpone or shorten games due to cold weather will be made on a case-by-case basis by participating team’s coaches, AT (if present), and referees. The decision to postpone or shorten a game will take into consideration these guidelines.

Thank you for your time and adherence to these measures. For more information on Lightning Safety and Outdoor Sports Activities, visit this link:

For additional information visit the National Weather Services for Lightning Safety