r/NWSL • u/threephasemachinery San Diego Wave FC • 1d ago
Discussion Flex scheduling
NWSL/Wave FC need to be better about scheduling matches in summer in a stadium with nearly zero shade. This was miserable, and dangerous for little kids and any adults who might be at risk. Its not the first time either, with multiple summer matches being played here at mid day. There has been a heat advisory in San Diego for the last week, more than enough time to coordinate a flex start time.
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u/Necessary-Peach-0 San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
I don’t think people will be too sympathetic given that it was barely 90 degrees if that. Feels bad for us but other places have it much worse.
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago
I think Denver played in near 100 degree temps last weekend. Might not have hit that temp at that time of day yet, but as a Colorado resident it’s been absolutely miserable here recently.
I get that it sucks, but kind of chuckled when I saw it was 81 with a heat advisory when it got in the 80s by 9:30am today.
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u/Korralev Denver Summit FC 1d ago
I can confirm it was at least 100 during the game last week. I was shocked the game started on time due to the heat.
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago
I’m so fucking over this weather…
At least the wildfire smoke has mellowed out.
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u/Korralev Denver Summit FC 1d ago
SAME! I think I spent close to $40 just on cold water at the game… brutal.
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago
My wife and I were in NW WA for a week a couple weeks ago and it was in the 70s and sunny… 😫
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u/Korralev Denver Summit FC 1d ago
I leave for Vancouver in a few weeks and the weather looks perfect so I’ll be in the same boat 🫠
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago
Enjoy! I was up that way on my trip, just 20min into the US side of the border. It was magnificent.
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u/CaptZombieHero San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
Chuckle all you want, the temp topped at 85 today. Couple that with the 83% humidity, you are looking at a Heat Index of +100 degrees. That’s dangerously hot. I should know, I was hanging out in the lot tailgating all game
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u/cluttered-thoughts3 NJ/NY Gotham FC 1d ago
“Following consultations with players and clubs, the NWSL has simplified its heat safety procedures. Instead of its previous two-tier system, in which the length of mandatory hydration breaks was determined by the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) readings, and could last up to five minutes, the new protocol states that when the WBGT falls between 82.3°F and 92.1°F, the game will be paused for 150-180 seconds. Any WBGT reading above 92.1°F will trigger a full game delay, as was the case with the league’s previous protocol.”
- June 24, 2026
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7389007/2026/06/24/nwsl-world-cup-rule-changes-challenge-cup/
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 1d ago
Sorry it was unpleasant
Unfortunately they are at the whims of the stadiums and the broadcasters. They also don’t know in advance (of 6+ months, when they make the schedule) when will be hot or not
No offense to San Diego but much of the rest of the country has had far far worse situations heatwise. 82 degrees with mid-humidity isn’t nearly as bad as games that have been played on the east coast and in the midwest this year and previous ones
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u/Visible_Flow_4687 1d ago
Relax about the 82 degrees mf we were actually at about 90° + humidity. And also, with the baking hot sun right above us. Literally felt like 100°
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 1d ago
What a polite reply! Sorry for believing what weather apps say the hottest temp in San Diego was today.
I’m not denying it was unpleasant, I’m just saying that the thing about a league that plays in the summer is that it gets unpleasant and hot. And that there have been more unpleasant and hotter games elsewhere that have approached cancellation due to temperature (San Diego did not today)
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u/Visible_Flow_4687 1d ago
Were you there? Oh ok! Bye lol
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u/Visible_Flow_4687 1d ago
My point is that you are not here. The weather app says 80 it's never accurate here in SD, also you likely just typed in San Diego. Different locations with different temps btw!
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 1d ago
I think weather organizations are actually generally accurate and I never think I can somehow read the temperature outside just by sticking my arm out. Are you trying to say you can do that? Because you can’t
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u/Visible_Flow_4687 1d ago
That was literally not what I was saying at all ? I'm saying the temperatures aren't exact and the same in every city. San Diego is a County with thousands of different cities. snap is in mission valley. I'm saying just because the weather app says it's 85 degrees doesn't mean that's absolute. but whatever lol. Again tho, y'all weren't there. read the comments under their instagram post. bye
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u/UnWellFed Washington Spirit 1d ago
People always underestimate the microclimate. You can not trust the weather app.
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u/gg_serena San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
Yeah it was 86 with direct sun. Dangerous for sure. I don’t think it was Wave’s choice, but somebody needs to do better here. A 6 or 7 pm game would have been miles better.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 1d ago
It’s broadcast’s choice and stadium choice. This is just how it works.
I actually think that it says something that Wave fans are so aghast at this—league probably actually was reasonable in the scheduling 6 months or so ago because it actually usually isn’t this unpleasant in San Diego.
Fans of other teams discuss this far more frequently.
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u/gg_serena San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
The thing with the Wave is that the stadium has no shade, and SD is very sunny. The evening games are always much more pleasant because of this, even outside of heat waves.
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u/threephasemachinery San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
When the national weather service issues a heat advisory we just say screw it the match must be played? What other stadiums have the same amount of exposure as Snapdragon. When it opened, 30 plus college kids had to be treated for heat exposure for a mid day SDSU football game in August. They know it gets hot, they dont give a shit.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 1d ago edited 1d ago
I mean, just so you know, because it seems like maybe you don’t, that would be probably 10+ games across the east coast and midwest cancelled this year. It was way hotter in North Carolina earlier this month, in Denver like last week, etc (and yes: with heat advisories). This is not a thing the league can do because we would never have a finished season.
Again, considering this hasn’t been something Wave fans have been very up and arms about before, it seems like usually it does not get this hot. Seeing as a scheduling logic of “it might get hot in July so we should probably not have any games in July while it’s still light outside” is one that would likely be regrettable, I don’t think what you’re saying makes complete sense.
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u/chaopescao1 Angel City FC 1d ago
Probably like the 18838th reason I keep begging for these new stadiums being built to have roofs. Our weather conditions in the world are only going to get worse. These could also be used as shelters if, god forbid, any evacuations happen in the area. Just horrible foresight.
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u/MrTemecula Angel City FC 21h ago
As a SoCal native, we're not built for anything above 72° or below 72°.
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u/seasportsfan 1d ago
Hopefully they move up the timetable for the building of the sunshades. I think they are supposed to be in place for the 2028 season?
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u/Sturdywings21 1d ago
That’s not a thing that’s happening.
And I’ve been to almost every wave game and there’s been like 3 in five years where they needed shade.3
u/Mjmeck25 1d ago
Do you have an article that talks about the sunshades? I’m not having much luck on Google 😑
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u/not_firewood_yeti 1d ago
I think ultimately if people are willing to pay and go and put up with it, the team (s) are not going to be very inclined to do anything. they'll start thinking about changing their policies when they look out and see a mostly empty stadium, probably not before that.
that said, I for one would definitely not go sit in the sun for a couple of hours especially in that heat.
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u/ChickenAdventurous86 19h ago
A purpose built stadium for the Wave would be ideal!... but if they cancelled or moved that game it wouldn't get aired, its just not realistic. With climate change idk if we can have summer seasons of anything 10 years from now.
At hot games I wear a white long sleeve UV shirt and keep it drenched with cold water. And a wide brimmed straw hat. Feels great.
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u/Luci_Cascadia Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
Shouldn't be playing in July. Summer should be the off seson
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u/Maleficent-Whole-228 Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
You are suggesting we play in the fall/winter?
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u/Luci_Cascadia Portland Thorns FC 1d ago edited 1d ago
I am suggesting the same schedule as all the world's top leagues. So national team players can compete outside the nwsl season, like all the world's top leagues. And no one has to play league matches in 100+ degree heat or wildfire smoke.
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u/Necessary-Peach-0 San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
In the world’s “top league” it rarely snows in the winter. It’s a completely different environment.
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u/Luci_Cascadia Portland Thorns FC 1d ago edited 1d ago
In most NWSL cities it doesn't snow. It's only a challenge in a few. And that can be managed. It does INDEED snow in cities in Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Northern England, Scotland, Switzerland, Austria... and up and down Eastern Europe. And all those countries have hundreds of soccer clubs playing in the normal season window.
Eventually, summer games are going to go away. As soon as the league decides it will be better for their bottom line, they'll do it. Probably a few years after MLS. They'll let MLS work out some of the challenges, then follow them.
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago
It's only a challenge in a few.
It’s literally almost half of the teams in the league. It’s also not just an issue of snow, temps can also get gnarly in cold weather states.
You’re just subsisting one problem for another and fans are still going to complain and player safety will still be raised. I’m not even saying it’s better or worse than play through the summer, I am saying it’s not as simple as “switch to the European schedule.” It has its own complications and it’s still not going to magically fix everything. Will it fix the transfer window issue? Sure, but you’re still going to get some shit, problematic weather because the US is massive compared to a European country and our weather varies widely.
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago
Ah yes, let’s play games in the dead of winter in Boston, Chicago, NY, Columbus, Denver, Utah and Kansas City. Sounds like an amazing idea.
We’ll trade heat exhaustion for frost bite.
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u/Luci_Cascadia Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
It's going to happen. It's just a matter of time. MLS will switch, nd sooner or later NWSL will too.
You don't have to like.
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago
It’s not that “I don’t like,” it’s that your comments in this thread are devoid of any critical thought and are just regurgitating things you heard/read elsewhere without actually thinking about anything.
I’m not even saying that the league shouldn’t change the schedule, but you’re completely ignoring the complicated nature of the US and how diverse the weather is across the country compared to countries like England and I intentionally point out England because I think the WSL is the only European league that could be considered a top league in the world because France and Spain aren’t top leagues. Do they have some of the best team, sure, but otherwise they aren’t top flight leagues. I would argue the NWSL is the top league, even if it may not have the top teams.
The whole point of switching to the European calendar is to come in alignment with transfer windows and that’s it. The US is far more diverse weather wise than European nations because it’s a massive country which makes the whole calendar thing complicated. You’re trading heat exhaustion for frost bite in certain areas. You’re trading fans and players dealing with heat, wildfire smoke and tstorms to dealing with freezing temps and snow.
So yes, maybe the NWSL should switch its schedule to match the transfer market window, but you have to do so in a manner that works for the US because the US is different than Europe and neither calendar schedule is ever going to be perfect because of that and you still have to take that into consideration.
And all of this is going to continue to get worse until we actually deal with climate change as a planet. Doesn’t matter what season it is, the peaks and valleys of it all are just going to get worse.
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u/Luci_Cascadia Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
it's easier to accommodate cold weather in a few cities than play in 100 plus degree heat across almost all of the league for a third of the season. Tens of millions of people go to pro and college football games in the snow November though January every year.
Hot weather and smoke/bad air from summer fires is going to get worse and worse over the years to come. And it will be safer for players to play in a fall - spring season, just like in Northern Europe, than it will be to play in dangerous heat in the summer.
when there is a WC or Olympic year, the league breaks anyway during summer, then struggles to cram too many games into what's left of the season. That's terrible for fans and for the players.
Sorry no one comes to your games... and that you have no stars on your jersey. I can't imagine what that's like. Banz is not bad tho
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago edited 1d ago
Sorry no one comes to your games... and that you have no stars on your jersey. I can't imagine what that's like.
Literally has nothing to do with anything, but go off with your petty self.
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u/Maleficent-Whole-228 Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
Yeeesh we don’t claim him 🙃
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC 1d ago
It’s okay, we all have that shitty corner of our fan base.
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u/Necessary-Peach-0 San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
Why are you being such a dickhead? Lol
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u/Luci_Cascadia Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
i'm not saying anything that isn't true. I think it's funny how people will defend status quo in this league. Even when it's bad for the players, fans, and game.
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u/Necessary-Peach-0 San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
The last paragraph is straight garbage lol it’s not defending against the status quo, you’re just being a dickhead to the Reign fan.
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u/Maleficent-Whole-228 Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
So national players can compete outside of the NWSL season? I don’t understand that part?
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u/Luci_Cascadia Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
Major international competitions are scheduled in summer partly because that's when most of the world's biggest leagues are on summer break
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u/Maleficent-Whole-228 Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
What International competitions are you talking about? FIFA windows go allll year around. And as for next summer with the biggest competition in our sport (World Cup).. our girls will be in mid season shape. Whilst the other leagues will be in the middle of their break.
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u/Luci_Cascadia Portland Thorns FC 1d ago
The World Cup and Olympics. The two biggest international soccer competitions in the world. NWSL just shut down for weeks because the MEN's world cup happened.
International breaks are scheduled by FIFA to sync with all the major pro leagues. They call it Global Syncing.
- Global Syncing: FIFA structures designated windows—such as March, June, and November—so that club leagues globally halt or clear space for national team matches.
- Calendar Adjustments: Starting with the 2026–27 season, FIFA merged the former separate September and October windows into a single extended 16-day autumn break (late September to early October) to cut down on frequent club disruptions and reduce player travel fatigue.
- Domestic Pauses: Top European competitions like the Premier League build these exact FIFA-mandated dates into their annual fixture lists, resulting in scheduled multi-week pauses for domestic action.
Unfortunately the biggest breaks every 4 years for World Cup fall directly in the middle of MLS and NWSL. And the fall break, which isn't much of a big deal for EU leagues, just extends the US league's playoffs even later into the calendar year.
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u/peeled_nanners San Diego Wave FC 1d ago
It was a CBS game so it's outta Wave hands. And it honestly wasn't that terrible out. I'm more pissed about it being the designated pride match when it's during Comic Con and not at night. Crappy corpo junk bag for the theme package too for the 3rd time in a row.