Air Quality Policy and College Athletics

Poor air quality and its impact on the physical and cognitive performance of athletes is a well documented phenomenon. Researchers have found that higher levels of air pollution and airborne particulates, especially from smoke and fire events, causes noticeable decreases in physical and technical performance. As a water polo player at Stanford University, I was very interested in investigating the negative impact that air pollution has on athletes as well as the broader human population. College athletes participate in practice and games outside in potentially poor air quality conditions for up to 25 hours every week. To gain the requisite background on the scientific issues surrounding air quality policy, I worked with Dr. Patrick Murphy at PSE Healthy Energy. He provided invaluable guidance and mentorship about air pollution, AQI standards, and related health impacts on the larger population, For my Field Project I began by researching NCAA air quality policies for athletics. I then compared how the NCAA policies align with the air quality policies for athletics at 5 California-based universities–USC, UCLA, CAL, UC Davis, and Stanford. These institutions were chosen to represent 3 different regions of the state–Socal, Bay Area, and Central Valley. I conducted 15 interviews with water polo student-athletes at these 5 universities to gain insight into the impact that compromised air quality has had on their physical and mental well being. I also gained their perspectives about current NCAA and university air quality policies, including how they are being implemented, and how coaches and athletic staff are responding to them. One goal of my Field Project is to share my findings with NCAA policymakers in the hopes of protecting the health of student-athletes by offering more clarity around air quality policies to college coaches and staff who are charged with protecting their players.