Free Emergency Action Plan for Alabama High School Athletics

Build your school’s athletics emergency action plan in one sitting. Leave with a finished plan in your school’s own name, ready to post, share and rehearse.

Build your free Emergency Action Plan →

This tool is for planning and education. It does not replace medical advice. The builder does not review your plan or check it against state, district or athletic association requirements. Your school is responsible for its final plan.

• Your plan, your school’s name. Your school’s name goes on every page.
• More than one athlete down. A dedicated section for the day two or three athletes need cooling at once.
• Your answers stay on your device. No account. No sign-up. Free for every school.

What is an athletics emergency action plan?

An athletics emergency action plan (EAP) is a written plan for each venue. It names who takes charge, who calls 911, who starts cooling and who brings the ambulance in at the gate. It lists the equipment that has to be on site and ready, and it is rehearsed before the season, not during an emergency.

For an Alabama high school, that means one plan that covers your fields, gyms and practice sites, your coaches and athletic trainer, and the heat rules your medical team sets.

Alabama requirements

Starting with the 2025–26 school year, Alabama law requires each local board of education, and each nonpublic school with an athletic program, to have a written cardiac emergency response plan for athletic activities on school property, developed with local emergency services (Code of Ala. §16-30D-21).

Your athletics emergency action plan should line up with your board’s cardiac emergency response plan. Check with your district.

Alabama law requires an AED that is clearly marked and easily accessible at each athletic event space on school property when students, athletes or staff are present, and at any school-sponsored athletic event or practice (Code of Ala. §16-30D-21(d), effective Oct. 1, 2025).

The Alabama High School Athletic Association’s 2026–27 Handbook (Rule VI, Section 2, p. 68) states that the principal is responsible for “keeping current Emergency Action Plans (EAP) for all sport facilities.” (2026–27 Handbook; checked Nov 9, 2026.) The association also posts an AHSAA Athletic Emergency Action Plan template (PDF) (template dated 2015; checked Nov 9, 2026).

What an athletics EAP includes

The free Emergency Action Plan Builder walks your school through each part:

1. School. Your school’s name, which goes on every page of your plan.
2. Venues. Each venue’s address, emergency access gate, athletic trainer on site, cold-water immersion tub location, automated external defibrillator location, shade and cooling area, and nearest indoor shelter.
3. Activities. The sports and activities the plan covers.
4. People and roles. Named people, with phones and backups, not job titles alone.
5. Equipment. What is on site, filled and ready before the first whistle, and where it is kept.
6. Heat conditions. Who checks heat conditions, when they check, and your activity thresholds, set with your medical team.
7. Heat stroke and cooling steps. Your medical-team-approved cooling steps and a time record to keep with the tub.
8. More than one athlete down. Extra cooling stations, a lead for each athlete, extra ice and mutual aid.
9. Other emergencies and communication. Who calls, what they say and who gets told.
10. Annual review and sign-off. Review dates, rehearsal plans and signatures on the printed plan.

Heat illness happens in the 80s, not only in extreme heat. A plan that only comes out on the hottest day is not ready for the rest of the season.

Plan for more than one athlete down

Most emergency plans are written for one athlete. The More than one athlete down section helps your staff decide now how to cool two, three or four athletes at once:

• A separate cooling station for each athlete, each with its own cooling lead and its own person recording times.
• Tubs and tarps available at the venue, and where backups are stored.
• An extra ice source.
• What to tell 911, including how many athletes are down.
• A mutual aid contact and a nearby school or venue that can help.

Your plan, in your school’s name

When you finish, download a plan that belongs to your school. Your school’s name is on every page. The download area lists:

• Your completed plan as a PDF
• Your completed plan as a Word document
• A separate medical timeout card
• A blank checklist, as a PDF and as a Word document

Enter names in the builder. Signatures and dates go on the printed plan. Post a copy at each venue, keep a signed copy in the athletic office and share it with your local emergency medical services.

Your school’s information stays on your device

Your answers stay on your device. The builder creates your plan in your browser, with no account to make. If you choose “Save my progress on this device,” your progress is saved only in that browser on that device. Unchecking the option removes it, and “Start over” clears it. Files you have already downloaded are yours to keep.

Write it, assign roles and rehearse it

NFHS emergency action plan guidance emphasizes a written plan for each venue, role training, and regular review and rehearsal. For background on heat illness, see the National Athletic Trainers’ Association position statement on exertional heat illnesses. Include local EMS in your preparation and share the reviewed plan with responders.

Why every sideline needs a plan

Approximately 9,000 high-school athletes are treated for heat-related illnesses every year in the United States, according to CDC high-school sports injury surveillance.

Build your free Emergency Action Plan →

Emergency action plan questions

What is an emergency action plan for high school athletics?

An athletics emergency action plan (EAP) is a written plan for each venue that sets out who responds to an emergency, who calls 911, where emergency medical services enter, what equipment is ready and how the team cools an athlete on site. It is written before the season, shared with responders and rehearsed.

What should an Alabama high school athletics EAP include?

Include venue addresses and EMS access, the activities covered, named responders and backups, ready equipment, heat conditions and thresholds set with your medical team, cooling steps, a plan for more than one athlete down, other emergencies and communication, and annual review and sign-off. Check your plan against your school district’s and athletic association’s current requirements.

Is the Emergency Action Plan Builder free?

Yes. The National Stay Cool Day Emergency Action Plan Builder is free for every school. There is no account and no sign-up to use it.

What does our school leave with?

A finished emergency action plan in your school’s own name. Your school’s name goes on every page. The download area lists your completed plan as a PDF and as a Word document, a separate medical timeout card, and a blank checklist in PDF and Word.

Does the plan cover more than one athlete down?

Yes. The More than one athlete down section covers additional cooling stations, a cooling lead and backup for each athlete, tubs and tarps, extra ice, what to tell 911 and mutual aid from a nearby school or venue.

Where does our school’s information go?

Your answers stay on your device. The builder creates your plan in your browser. If you choose “Save my progress on this device,” your progress is saved only in that browser on that device, and unchecking the option removes it.

Who should review the medical steps?

Your team physician or medical director should review and approve the medical steps in your plan. The builder is for planning and education and does not replace medical advice. The builder does not review your plan or check it against state, district or athletic association requirements. Your school is responsible for its final plan. In an emergency, call 911.

Bring National Stay Cool Day to your school

National Stay Cool Day is Thursday, April 8, 2027. Pair your emergency action plan with a 14-day acclimatization schedule, then see how your school can join.

National Stay Cool Day is an initiative of Player Safety Council.

This tool is for planning and education. It does not replace medical advice. Medical steps should be reviewed and approved by your team physician or medical director. The builder does not review your plan or check it against state, district or athletic association requirements. Your school is responsible for its final plan. In an emergency, call 911.