What rest breaks apply at Moderate risk?
Guideline- Australia
- Sports Medicine Australia
- Extreme heat
- Sports Heat Tool
- All ages
- 2025
- Coaches
Under Moderate risk the SMA guidelines recommend increasing the frequency and/or duration of rest breaks:
- Training sessions: a minimum of 15 minutes of rest for every 45 minutes of practice.
- Matches: extend naturally occurring breaks (e.g. half-time) by about 10 minutes. This is effective for sports such as soccer and rugby and can be applied to others such as field hockey.
- Extra breaks: add breaks not normally scheduled, for example 3 to 5 minute "quarter-time" breaks midway through each half of a football or rugby match, or an extended 10 minute drinks break every hour of a cricket match or after the second set of a tennis match.
- Continuous play with no scheduled breaks: the course or play duration can be shortened.
- During all breaks: everyone should seek shade (portable sun shelters if there is no natural shade) and water should be freely available.
Added 24 Oct 2026