Jamaicans know from long, hard experience that lightning is no joke.

Indeed, a quick search of news archives readily provides details of lives lost to such strikes.

In outdoor sport, match officials have a difficult task determining when the threat is such that players should leave the field.

Of course, it’s not so easy for spectators gathered at venues without covered stands or, for that matter, proximate shelter of any sort.

In Jamaica, it just so happens that the schoolboy football season coincides with a time of year — September, October, and November — when severe thunderstorms are very prevalent.

Already, this schoolboy football season, there has been at least one case of student footballers being hospitalised after a lightning episode. Thankfully, we have heard of no serious injuries.

We recall the 2019 season — which was also overly active in terms of thunderstorms — when there were admissions to hospital after lightning struck.

Just as an aside, football is not the only outdoor sport threatened by lightning.

Those who were there will probably never forget a sunny afternoon at Kensington Park in east Kingston in early October 2003 when lightning struck during a limited overs’ game between Trinidad and Tobago and the Windward Islands.

Then West Indies fast bowler Mr Mervyn Dillon — the tallest man on the field — who was batting at the time, and Windwards fast bowler Mr Fernix Thomas, who was running in to bowl, had to be hospitalised overnight.

Regarding the current football season we note that referees appear to have been quite proactive in halting games whenever a lightning threat is perceived.

That has created difficulty for organisers who must reschedule for such matches to be completed. That’s inconvenient without doubt, but better safe than sorry.

Given the circumstances, we join leading schoolboy coaches in applauding competition organisers, the Inter Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) for their decision to have some games begin in late morning, rather than mid-afternoon when thunderstorms are most likely.

Says Mr Davion Ferguson, head coach of Manning Cup title holders Jamaica College: “I think it should have been a decision … made a long time ago, but it is better late than never.”

We agree, even though we accept that the additional heat in late morning to early afternoon will make life uncomfortable for everyone.

As Mr Lenworth Hyde, the highly respected coach of Olivier Shield champions Clarendon College and a star player decades ago, pointed out, an earlier start is good preparation for those advancing to higher-level football in later years.

“They have to get used to this time because sometimes World Cup [matches are played in late morning to early afternoon) and international competitions [are played then],” Mr Hyde said.

Back in 2019, we made a suggestion in this space which we felt could ease scheduling problems caused by postponements and stoppages due to lightning and other weather events.

We said then: “Would it make sense, we wonder, for special rules to be implemented allowing weather-interrupted schoolboy football games to be decided there and then, based on the score at the point of interruption — perhaps after a minimum 45 minutes…”

Why not, we wonder.