Soccer Star, Foundation Urge Skin Protection While Playing Sports, Especially on Hot Days

With the recent success of the U.S. Women’s National Team in the World Cup finals, outdoor sports are top-of-mind. 

Some sports stars are practicing more than technique on the field this summer – they’re practicing sun safety, as well. 

Consider soccer star Christie Rampone, captain of the Women’s National Team, who has made sun protection a way of life. Rampone is a member of Team SCF, a group of professional athletes working with The Skin Cancer Foundation to raise awareness about skin cancer among active people. Those who spend a lot of time outdoors are particularly vulnerable to the cumulative damage caused by the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Rampone and The Skin Cancer Foundation offer sun safety tips for those with an active, outdoor lifestyle:

    • Seek the shade, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Schedule training, practices and games for the early morning or late afternoon. If you must be outdoors during peak sun hours, look for shaded areas, which not only offer relief from the heat but significant sun protection for exposed skin.
    • Do not burn. A person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns at any age.
    • Cover up with clothing, including a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses. Clothing can be your most effective form of sun protection, so make the most of it with tightly woven or knit, bright- or dark-colored fabrics, which offer the best defense. The more skin you cover, the better, so choose long sleeves and long pants whenever possible.
    • For extended outdoor activity, use a water-resistant, broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Apply 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of sunscreen to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside.
    • Sunscreen running into the eyes is a perennial concern (and an occasional excuse for not wearing any), but the pros have ways of dealing with this: Rampone applies Vaseline to her eyebrows, since it keeps sunscreen on her forehead from migrating into her eyes.
    • Reapply sunscreen every two hours or immediately after swimming or excessive sweating. Be careful to cover often-missed exposed spots such as the hands and the back of the neck.
    • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin) and Naproxen (Aleve) make you extra-sensitive to the sun. If you use such medications for your aches and pains, be vigilant about protecting your skin.
       
A two-time Olympic Gold medalist in soccer, Rampone has also discovered that you don’t need to live in a sunny climate to sustain sunburn and sun damage.

“The worst days aren’t the ones that are that hot and sunny. It’s the overcast days [up to 80 percent of the sun’s UV radiation can penetrate clouds] when you’re not thinking about the sun – then you really get burned,” she said in a news release. 
 
For more information on Team SCF and Christie Rampone's relationship with The Skin Cancer Foundation, visit SkinCancer.org.

The Skin Cancer Foundation is the only global organization solely devoted to the prevention, early detection and treatment of skin cancer. The mission of the Foundation is to decrease the incidence of skin cancer through public and professional education and research. For more information, visit SkinCancer.org.