Fluid nutrition and the referee

As the start of the new Season is almost upon us, here is just a gentle reminder that the loss of body fluids from sweating can cause fatigue, and so referees must take on board enough fluids before, during and after games and including training. 

Ideally, the day before a match or training, referees should drink at least two litres of water. On matchday, the rule of thumb is ‘little and often’, drinking around 200mls (paper cupful) every 15-20 minutes is recommended and drinking about 500ml of fluid in the hour before a match or training starts.

Drinking fluids at half-time is also strongly advised. Also, check your urine against the chart (above). This urine colour chart is a simple tool you can use to assess if you are drinking enough fluids throughout the day to stay hydrated.

In hot conditions, just water should be ingested. This is because the addition of carbohydrate drinks tends to slow the rate at which water gets to the blood. The more concentrated the carbohydrate, the slower the rate of delivery of water to the blood.

Drink a low carbohydrate drink about 40-45 minutes before kick-off followed by a normal carbohydrate drink at half-time.

After the match or training, re-hydration is really important. Drink as soon as possible after exercise, since body fluid recovery takes at least 30 minutes. However, because drinking fluids inevitably leads to urine production and elimination, actual re-hydration may not be complete for four-six hours.