Poor air quality can severely impact the performance and health of all individuals involved in outdoor sport and physical activity. With financial and scientific support from Health Canada, SIRC developed the Air Quality Health Index module to help coaches and other sport leaders recognize the impact of poor air quality and pollutants on sport participants, coaches, and officials. Learn about the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) as a tool along with other resources below.
Air Quality Health Index Module
Environmental factors such as precipitation, extreme temperatures, lightning, and air pollution can adversely impact the health, safety, and performance of sport participants during outdoor training and competition. To protect all participants—including coaches, officials, and spectators—from exposure to these environmental factors, sport leaders (e.g., coaches, officials, sport administrators) should make informed decisions about when to modify, cancel, or reschedule outdoor events. There is a wide understanding of how to protect participants from lightning, yet few understand how to protect sport participants from poor air quality. In this module, you will learn how to do just that!
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Describe the major air pollutants, where they come from, and their impact on human health
- Explain why air pollution presents a significant risk to sport participants
- Describe the effects of air pollution on the health and performance of outdoor sport participants
- Use the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) and regional and local air quality alerts to protect outdoor sport participants from exposure to air pollutants
There is a wide understanding of how to protect participants from lightning, yet few understand how to protect sport participants from poor air quality. In this module, you will learn how to do just that!
The learning module is hosted in the Coaching Association of Canada’s Locker, which is the central location to easily access, manage, and maintain your coach training and records. To access this free training you will need an NCCP number. If you don’t have one, it’s easy to create one. Once you click on this link you will be redirected to the Locker to either complete module or create your NCCP account.
About the module
The module will take you approximately 30 to 40 minutes to complete. If you need to interrupt your learning, you can exit the module and your progress will be saved. When you log back in, you will be able to resume where you left off.
Air quality and outdoor sport safety is a Health Canada initiative. The module was developed by SIRC with financial and scientific support from Health Canada.
