Surviving the Heat: A Marching Arts Guide to an Increasingly Extreme Summer

Happy Earth Day from MAASIN. Climate change is not just an abstract threat to this activity. It is showing up on our fields and in our stadiums right now, in the form of lightning delays, canceled shows, and temperatures that remain dangerously high well into the evening hours. Drum corps performers in particular, spending full summers on the road, rehearsing and competing outdoors for months at a time, are bearing the brunt of a disrupted climate in ways the activity has never had to reckon with at this scale before. The conditions are getting more extreme, and they aren’t going back to normal on their own. Until we see the kind of systematic change this planet needs, the best thing we can do is take care of each other out there.

Surviving an Extreme Summer

No matter where you come from, if you’ve been following the performing arts, especially over the past several years, you’ll know that weather has become an incredibly antagonistic force for the activity season after season. Last season alone, between lightning and extreme temperatures, with some still well over 100°F after 7pm, there were at least six shows that were either extensively delayed or entirely canceled, before everyone had the opportunity to perform. One instance, fortunately, gave both performers and audience a chance to enjoy an impromptu encore performance when the Whitewater Classic was rained out, but that example is an exception, and not the standard when the weather wins the day. While many of us wish we could just snap our fingers and fix the issues, that is, unfortunately, not an option. At the same time, addressing the root causes of climate change is no simple task, so without fundamental systematic change, the only reasonable path forward is to instead focus on what we can do to help ourselves and those around us make it through the more extreme seasons that are likely to persist into the foreseeable future. This Earth Day, we’ll be highlighting some of the things you can do to make the summer under a disrupted climate more manageable.

Prepare Before You Head Out

When you know you’re going to be spending a good portion of time outside, whether that’s for rehearsal, for work, or just for spending time under the sun, how you feel when you’re finished will largely be based on how you prepare before you head outside.

Hydration

Hydration might just seem like drinking enough water to balance how much you’re losing, but just drinking isn’t enough to match both the water as well as the electrolytes you’re losing. While there are various hydration options to choose from, including Sqwincher, Gatorade, Liquid IV, and Pedialyte, make sure to keep an eye out for how much sugar it has, since some of them can have sugar levels comparable to soda or even an energy drink. Balancing both how much water and electrolytes you drink with how much you lose is important to remember. In addition to that, if you only start hydrating when you head outside, you’re already a step behind. Once you start to feel thirsty, you’re already in the early stages of dehydration. Start hydrating a full day before to get ahead of this and stay hydrated once you head out.

Beating The Weather

We all know how accurate weather forecasts can be, but at the very least, they can act as a direction that the weather is likely to go in. Having an idea of what the expected weather will be, specifically how intense the UV and temperature are anticipated to be, will give you a strong starting point to work from. Once the UV reaches 8, it starts to become more extreme, even more so once it reaches 10, which is why using adequate UV protection at higher levels becomes so important. While blocking as much UV light as possible is the best option, at higher temperatures, that becomes more of a challenge, which is why properly using sunscreen is so vital. SPF 30 is a good baseline for most people, though if you’re more reactive to UV, SPF 50 would be a better option for you. Make sure to apply it 15 - 30 minutes before you head outside to make sure it’s active when you’re under the sunlight.

Heading Outside

Once you finally head outside, the work isn’t finished. Like previously mentioned, continuing to hydrate and reapplying sunscreen while you’re outside is key, but on top of that, something else to watch out for is heat illness. The most common forms of heat illness that we deal with are heat exhaustion and heat strokes. Both have similar symptoms, but at the simplest level, heat exhaustion is an earlier phase that is easier to recover from but is still vital to be aware of. Heat stroke, on the other hand, can rapidly become a serious health concern if not treated immediately.

Recognizing Heat Illness

Early signs of heat exhaustion you should watch out for, according to the Mayo Clinic, are:

• Cool, moist skin with goosebumps when in the heat

• Heavy sweating

• Faintness

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

• Weak, rapid pulse

• Low blood pressure upon standing

• Muscle cramps

• Nausea

• Headaches.

As it continues to worsen, additional signs that indicate it’s moving from heat exhaustion towards a heat stroke are

• High body temperature at or above 104°F

• A change in mental state or behavior, such as confusion, agitation, slurred speech, or irritability

• A change in sweating pattern, either drastically increasing or suddenly stopping

• Flushed skin

• Rapid breathing

• A racing heart rate

Once you start to notice the early signs, stop whatever you’re doing immediately and connect with your medical staff. They’ll move you to a cooler, shadier place, or an air conditioned building, if that’s available. Start working to cool down by slowly drinking cool, hydrating fluids, and any other cooling methods available to you, such as a cold, damp towel or icepacks over the back of your neck or a cool shower. Fortunately, heat exhaustion can be recovered from quite quickly with little down time before returning to the field, but if not taken seriously and treated, will result in a heat stroke, which will likely result in hospitalization. Dehydration and heat exhaustion are both illnesses that can be incredibly serious but at the same time can be treated incredibly quickly, as long as you notice the signs and act accordingly. Winter’s unusual weather patterns often foreshadow summer extremes and with how extreme the winter was for much of the midwest and east coast, this summer is likely to be just as extreme, with high temperatures, extreme UV levels, and excessive wildfires, and the best option is preparation. If you’ll be spending extensive time outside, plan ahead: start hydrating now, check the UV index, and pack essentials; water, sunscreen, a hat, and anything else that helps you beat the heat.

Jeremy Svoboda, educator, performer, and content creator, has returned to field as an educator with the Govenaires Drum & Bugle Corps after performing for seven years and spending eight years as an educator for both brass and visual performance. They have been a member of MAASIN since the fall of 2025 and currently serves on the Public Education committee, as well being a member of the Communications and Disability Caucus'. They are the founder of Drum Corps Today.