Title Graphic (214K)
Introduction
Weather Services
Sport's Weather Rules
Climate Services
Global Cooperation
Weather, Climate & Sports: a Sampler
Introduction
Sportspeople have cheered or cursed the weather for at least 2770 years since the Greeks staged the first Olympic Games.Footrunners welcomed a following wind. Archers and javelin throwers monitored breezes as closely in peace as in war, watching the movements of leaves or flags. Charioteers battled mud, dust or heavy rain.
For the ancients, weather monitoring was rudimentary - rarely did they enjoy anything as state-of-the-art as the brass windvane and clock in the Tower of the Winds, built in Athens circa 100- 50BC. It was unlikely that "Meteorologica" - Aristotle's pioneering, bravura attempt to embrace the whole topic of meteorology as a cohesive subject - impinged significantly on communities whose weather forecasting might combine memories of the local climate, dubious weather lore, and perhaps the opinion of an oracle. Aristotle's great work ruled as the definitive Western meteorological textbook until scientific developments in the mid-15th century challenged many of his theories.
For sportspeople, little changed for almost three millennia after the first Olympics, until Baron Pierre de Coubertin's revival of the Olympics concept in 1896 coincided with the early decades of international meteorological cooperation bringing an expanding framework of observations and knowledge of the global climate. Today's sportspeople are among the beneficiaries of the recent computing, communications and observational revolutions supporting global weather and climate monitoring, analysis and prediction.
In recognition of the role that National Meteorological Services play in providing weather and climate information to those involved in sport, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has chosen 'Meteorology in the Service of Sports' as the theme for World Meteorological Day 1996.
Sydney's first weather observations were made from 1788-91 by Lt William Dawes of the First Fleet
Weather Services
Outdoors sportspeople, and their coaches, use weather information in scores of ways to gain a sporting edge.
Most use the basic services provided by National Meteorological Services through the electronic and print media, now increasingly complemented by facsimile, telephone and computer systems.
Weather news is as 'live' as a mobile phone in the coach's box, a facsimile or personal computer in the tournament office, or a forecast on a stadium's TV screen.
Weather tactics can start with choice of appropriate clothing and equipment: gloves, shortsleeved jumpers, ski wax, footwear, creams for sunglare or sunburn ...
Many teams monitor radio and television before and during matches for weather clues which might affect their initial choice of tall or mobile players, mid-game moves, timing of attack or defence, and many subtle weather-related decisions. Football coaches planning best use of the wind may make a last-minute call to the local weather office. Weather information may help offence (a cricket captain giving his fastest bowler the wind advantage) or defence (footballers emphasising wet-weather ball-handling skills).
Grand Prix racing teams 'tune' cars to weather factors before, and during, competition. For instance, crucial tyre selection depends on monitoring both air temperature and track surface temperature.
A cricket stadium manager tracking an approaching storm on a weather radar screen will warn the groundkeepers to get ready to cover the pitch, and may also alert umpires, team rooms, the media, security, the spectators, and even bars and restaurants.
Three thousand kilometres from nearest land, sailors in a round-the-world race use radiofacsimile to receive weather charts, forecasts and warnings.
Age-old technologies such as flags and windvanes may still give contestants wind clues in a big stadium; but down in the management office, officials may also be on-line to weather information via the Internet.
Sport's Weather Rules
Many outdoors sports have rules to balance fairness and safety when weather intrudes. Sailing is an obvious example: no wind, no start; winds of 25 knots and more lead to cancellation.
Track and field athletes can earn glory, but no records, if wind assistance is two metres a second or higher in the 100m, 200m, 110m hurdles, long jump and triple jump. Javelin, shot put and hammer contestants compete regardless of wind, as do archers and shooting contestants. Wind readings are not taken for longer track races because competitors run both into and away from wind. Marathons are often scheduled for the coolest time of day.
Cricket, softball, baseball and tennis are halted by rain. Cricket has a wealth of weather-related rules, from stratagems to cope with rain-shortened matches, to technology such as umpires' lightmeters. Many sportspeople retreat before thunder and lightning and many sports have rules which involve postponement when temperatures reach 37.8C (100F).
Climate Services
Sports planners usually start from a climate framework. Cities contending for an Olympics, for instance, must provide their climate profile. The powerful influence of climate was dramatically illustrated by the impact of Mexico City's high altitude and summer temperatures on many Olympic competitors in 1968.
Climatology is central to compromises on location, design, and cost of sports facilities. A good example is the sliding roof at the Australian Open tennis stadium in Melbourne, one of four Grand Slam venues.
Climate data may also affect design of sports equipment, notably in the case of America's Cup yachts. These expensive high-technology designs, drawing heavily on computerised meteorological and oceanographic analysis, may be suited only for a single competition at a specific place and time of year.
Climate data are on computer databases; interactive software such as the popular RAINMAN package which lets users prepare rainfall probabilities and other data from thousands of Australian rainfall stations; publications; CD ROM; microfiche, and the Internet. A sports-related climate query may be as simple as a brief telephone call or as complex as a highly detailed statistical analysis.
Global Cooperation Supports Local Weather Services
Weather forecasting requires supercomputers and rapid interchange of data between some 178 National Meteorological Services through a system coordinated by WMO.
The anniversary of the establishment of WMO as an intergovernmental agency 23 March 1950 is celebrated each year as World Meteorological Day.
The accuracy of weather forecasts for more than two to three days in advance depends on the collection and exchange of data for the entire globe using satellites, radars, aircraft, ships and balloons; and on the work of tens of thousands of people in the meteorological community who contribute to the WMO World Weather Watch long recognised as a model of international cooperation.