Thermoregulatory Responses In Collegiate Marching Band Artists During A Proposed Heat Acclimatization Protocol

There are no existing guidelines to safely prepare marching band (MB) artists for the physical demands and thermal strain of performing in full uniform. PURPOSE: To pilot a heat acclimatization (HA) protocol to safely acclimatize MB artists to the physical demands of MB. METHODS: A sample of non-HA MB artists (n = 16, age = 19.5 ± 0.9 years, height = 170.8 ± 9.1 cm, weight = 81.6 ± 17.2 kg, body surface area [BSA] = 1.9 ± 0.2 m2) were randomly assigned a clothing condition: control (eg. shorts, t-shirt), mock (eg. athletic pants, jacket, hat), or uniform (eg. bibbers, jacket, shako/hat). Across a 10-day HA period starting day 1 of MB camp, mock and uniform groups gradually increased clothing components. After day 10, MB artists completed a maintenance protocol for 1 week by wearing assigned clothing 1 day. We measured core temperature (Tc; eCelsius Performance Capsule, BodyCAP) on days 1, 5, 7, and 14 and 2 football games. Statistical analyses included one-way and repeated measures ANOVAs, paired-sample t-tests, and linear regressions. RESULTS: Figure 1 represents max Tc for each condition and max WBGT on each day. Pre-Tc was not different between conditions. Control Tc post-activity was higher (38.02 ± 0.31 °C) than uniform (37.74 ± 0.31 °C, P < .001). For all activity days except day 14, post- Tc was higher than pre- (P < .039). Game 1 max (38.33 ± 0.24 °C) and average Tc (38.00 ± 0.20 °C) was higher than game 1 rehearsal max (37.97 ± 0.18 °C, F(1) = 28.998, P < .001) and average Tc (37.72 ± 0.18 °C, F(1) = 36.421, P < .001); with no differences between conditions. Max WBGT, BSA, sex, activity duration, and ground surface significantly predicted max Tc (F(5,120) = 2.978, P = .014), but was a weak association (adjusted R2 = .125). CONCLUSIONS: Both mock and uniform groups consistently yielded lower average and max Tc compared to control. WBGT as a Tc predictor supports a need for heat monitoring policies and guidelines in MB. More research is needed to determine efficacy of the protocol in different MB groups.