Super Rugby aims to clear the air

Super Rugby bosses have moved to ensure they are not caught short by the ongoing Australian bushfire crisis.

The southern hemisphere’s professional rugby competition has released an air quality protocol to govern decisions around matches taking place in Australian potentially affected by the bushfires.

In a proactive measure, a guideline document has been put together outlining a decisionmaking process for dealing with matches that may be affected by poor air quality.

Super Rugby chiefs said they wanted to create a ‘‘robust guideline document’’ that ensured the welfare of all participants at match venues, particularly for the potential impact of bushfire smoke.

They sought input from Rugby Australia, World Rugby and the Australian Institute of

Sport to to create defined protocols to be followed by match operations personnel.

The air quality protocols involve a multi-faceted decisionmaking process involving factors which can include: Realtime measurement of Particulate Matter (PM) levels; monitoring of the Air Quality Index (AQI); monitoring of environmental factors at the match venue; monitoring of signs and symptoms in the athletes; weather forecasts.

‘‘Bushfire smoke is difficult to forecast and conditions can also change quickly,’’ Super Rugby said in a statement.

Each match will have a specified Air Quality Assessment Panel responsible for monitoring the situation and will convene as deemed necessary. It will be made up of medical experts, match day operational staff, match officials and Super Rugby management.