National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Lightning Safety for Athletics and Recreation

This statement sets out how athletic trainers and others running outdoor sport and recreation should prevent lightning injuries and care for people who are struck. It replaces NATA's earlier lightning statement.

Its core is a written, lightning-specific emergency action plan for every venue: a named person with unchallengeable authority to stop play, a designated weather watcher using the National Weather Service, safe shelters identified in advance, and clear rules for suspending and resuming activity. Safe places are substantial enclosed buildings with wiring and plumbing, or fully enclosed metal vehicles; open shelters, dugouts, tents, trees, open fields and water are not safe, and even indoors people should stay away from plumbing and electrical equipment during a storm.

Everyone should be inside a safe location by the time lightning is within about 5 nautical miles (roughly 6 miles), and play should not resume until 30 minutes after the last lightning or thunder, with the clock restarting at each new strike or rumble. Large events need their own evacuation plan for spectators. Lightning victims carry no electrical charge, so rescuers can touch them immediately; staff should keep CPR and first-aid certification current and use an AED on anyone unresponsive or without a pulse.