Cooling Station Setup for Sports Events: A Guide

Race day medical planning tends to focus on the finish line, but exertional heat stroke does not wait for a finisher's tape. A cooling station's placement, staffing, and equipment need to reflect where and when heat cases actually happen.

Placement: don't wait for the finish line

Data from endurance events consistently shows heat cases distributed along the course, not clustered exclusively at the finish. Events run in warm conditions should stage at least one cooling-capable medical point along the course, in addition to the finish area, particularly near sections with limited shade or later cutoff times when temperatures peak.

Staffing for immediate immersion

A cooling station needs personnel trained to recognize the confusion-plus-hyperthermia pattern and to initiate immersion without waiting for a physician's order, since minutes matter more than protocol formality at this stage. Volunteer medical staff can be trained to this standard, but it requires deliberate drilling, not a one-page handout.

Equipment: immersion capacity, not just ice

A cooling station stocked only with ice packs and misting fans cannot deliver the cooling rate exertional heat stroke requires. At least one immersion-capable tub per cooling station, sized for full torso and limb submersion, aligns the station with the ACSM and IOC/BJSM consensus recommendations rather than a symbolic gesture toward heat safety.

Scaling for expected conditions

Forecast temperature and humidity, not just historical averages, should determine how many cooling stations and immersion units a race medical plan deploys. A WBGT-based threshold, reviewed a few days before race day, gives organizers an objective trigger for adding capacity rather than relying on judgment calls under pressure.

A cooling tub built for race-day logistics

The Kollder emergency cooling tub folds into the Kollder Go bag (85×10×10cm, hybrid backpack and rolling trolley) for easy transport between course cooling stations, and deploys solo in under 2 minutes when a case arrives. Details at kollder.com/#contact.