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Some Recommendations for Rules Improvements
Tony Dziepak, January 1999, revised April 2003Here are my suggestions for improving the sport. The SAAA has adopted some of these suggestions.
CONTENTS:
whole-inch measurement increments
three consecutive misses in vertical events
reduce the number of events
women's implements
hammer implement
suggestions for caber competition
other suggestions: flight size, etc
Measurement increments:
All events should be measured down to the lower whole inch. Since this was written, the SAAA adopted the rule change for 2003. My experience is that measurement increments varied from judge to judge--some measuring to the inch, some to the half inch, and some to the quarter inch. Furthermore, some judges were not consistent between events (nearest inch in hammer, but nearest 1/2 inch in weight), or even consistent within the event--they change their accuracy depending upon the situation. They will start out to the inch, but if another athlete throws the same distance, they differentiate it by going to the quarter inch.
Furthermore, an examination of the distribution of fractions of some judges, they do not use all of the fractions with equal probability. For instance, distances might be marked on the whole inch 40% of the time, to the half inch 30% of the time, to the 1/4 inch 20% of the time, and to the 3/4 inch only 10% of the time.
The conditions of heavy athletics is much more variable than in track and field: you have less flat fields, often with rougher grass, more slope, cross-sloping, and muddier conditions. You have larger divots with irregular-shaped implements. The tape is pulled sometimes to the spot of the trig nearest to the plant foot, sometimes to the center of the trig. All of these variables mean that the increment to distinguish a better throw must be fairly coarse.
My recommendation is that the standard increment of measurement be one inch for all events, including the vertical events. This means records must be broken by at least one inch, and the bar is measured down to the nearest inch.
There is nothing wrong with going to the next furthest throw to break a tie. It should be done more often if there is any doubt as to whose throw is further. For a related article, see Measuring long throws in track and field.
There should also be minimum measurement increments for the caber: It should be every 5 degrees (side judge) and every 15 minutes on the clockface. This increment of measurement should be evenly applied for all times from 9:00 to 3:00, and for all angles up to 90 degrees. The judge should not increase the increment accuracy the closer it is to 12:00. In terms of the side or back judges, the caber is rounded to the nearest increment, not rounded down as in inch measurements of other events.
The caber measurements have to be reasonably coarse because the angles and clock measurements have to be judged in an instant. This is another reason why they should be rounded up or down, not just down. When you measure a hammer throw, you use a tape measure after the fact, and you can see exactly to round down on the tape. But in the caber, you have to make that angle or clockface measurement at an instant (the caber and athlete may move after the instant of measurement). So if the caber hits between 11:52:30 and 12:07:30, this is a 12:00. 15 minutes gives you 25 increments and 5 degrees gives you 19 increments.
Vertical events: This was adapted by the SAAA for 2003. I propose going to the t&f high jump/pole vault rules, where an athlete is eliminated after three consecutive misses regardless of height. This will do several things: it will speed up the competition, and it will make more sense as every attempt is meaningful because it advances the athlete's ranking.
For instance, suppose with two athletes remaining, Athlete A misses 26', and then Athlete B makes 26' on his first attempt. It makes no sense for Athlete A to make any additional attempts at 26'. Clearing that height will not advance his ranking because he still has one more miss. Even if he made 26' then, he would still be in second place. So Athlete A should raise the bar to 26'6" for his next two attempts.
The t&f rules will also, on average, reduce the total number of attempts (and shorten competition) because all attempts will be meaningful. Also the t&f rules make the bar-raising increment decision more intrinsic to the competition, rather than having to rely on an agreement among athletes and judges. The following procedures should be adopted for sheaf and weight for height tosses:
The starting height should be divisible by 3"(weight)/6"(sheaf). The bar will be raised by increments of 1'(weight)/2'(sheaf) until five or less athletes remain, and then all remaining athletes may request any increment divisible by 3"(weight)/6"(sheaf), except for a record attempt, the bar can be raised by any increment divisible by 1"(weight)/2"(sheaf) and at least 3"(weight)/6"(sheaf) above his own last successful clearance. Valid records are games record, national record, area (continental) record, or world record, for any division: pro, open, amateur, women, masters, or lightweight. (No records for novice or amateur B, C divisions, except games records). The increment for raising the bar should never increase.
An athlete may commence attempts at any height and may make attempts or pass at his own discretion at any subsequent height. Three consecutive failures regardless of the height at which such failures occur, disqualify from further attempts (except in the case of a tie for first place). The effect of this rule is that a competitor may forego his second or third trial at a particular height (after failing first or second time) and still toss at a subsequent height. If a competitor foregoes a trial at a certain height, he may not make any subsequent attempts at that height (except in the case of a tie for first place).
All attempts must advance an athlete in ranking. For example, with two athletes remaining, if Athlete A has one miss and Athlete B makes the same height on his first attempt, then Athlete A must raise the bar for subsequent attempts. All measurements are made from the ground to the top of the crossbar and adjusted to (if possible) or recorded rounded down to the nearest 1"(weight)/2" (sheaf). Records must be broken by a minimum increment of 1"(weight)/2"(sheaf).
Places are determined by the highest height cleared. If two or more athletes clear the same highest height, and if both have cleared at least two heights, then placing is determined by less misses after the next highest height cleared, which will either be zero, one, or two. (the next highest height may be different). If these misses are identical, or if at least one athlete has only cleared one height, then the tie is broken by least total misses. Ties for places other than first not broken by this procedure remain as a tie.
First place tiebreaker procedure: At any time in the first-place tibreaker procedure, if all of the remaining tied athletes agree, the tie for first place of the remaining athletes can remain as a tie. First, the bar is lowered by 3"(weight)/6"(sheaf), and all tied athletes take one additional attempt. Throughout the tiebreaking procedure, an athlete cannot pass, or they will be given a place equal to one greater than the remaining tied athletes. The bar is repeatedly lowered by this increment until one or more athletes clear. When one athlete clears, (s)he is the first-place winner, and the athletes missing are tied for second place. When two or more athletes clear, the bar is raised by 3"(weight)/6"(sheaf), for one attempt. From now on, spelling bee elimination rules apply: they may keep increasing the height until one makes it and the other doesn't in a given stage. If all miss in a given stage, the bar is lowered by 3"(weight)/6"(sheaf), and the process is repeated.
In the case of a multiple tie for first place, places other than first are determined by how many stages they last through the tiebreaking process. If more than one previously-first-place-tied athlete are eliminated at the same stage of the tiebreaking process, then they remain tied for their place.
Min/max width between two uprights: weight: 8'-10'. Sheaf: 10'-12'.
women's implements:
What is the right size of implements for women to use? In general, the women's implements should be about 60-65% the weight of the men's implements, and the women's distances should be 80-90% of the men's with that weight. The length or size of the women's implements should also be proportionately smaller.
If the top women aren't averaging 80% of men's distances, the implement may be too heavy, which will cause technique, participation, and interest to suffer. On the other hand, if the implements are too light, and women's distances are further than men's distances, it may become too much of a speed event, and field space might be a problem.
So, I would say #10 and #14 (with 48" length) are good weights for women's hammers, and we might even consider #18 and #35 for the women's weights (keep the #28 for women masters/novice/lightweight divisions). Women's stones should be around #10-#12; Braemar stones about #14-#16. Sheaves either #10 or #12.
The overall length of the women's hammers should be reduced 2" to 48". It has been a convenience to use the men's light hammer as the women's heavy hammer, but now women's participation is increasing, and it should be no problem to make these new sizes for women. I heard that a lot of women who have difficulty with hitting the ground with the 50" hammer. They cannot achieve the best angle. Some have to choke up on the handle, giving them a disadvantage. So taking 2" off might be better.
Also Consider the diameter of the hammer handle; should women's handles be 1/4" skinnier to accomodate smaller hands? ". Also standardise the diameter of the handle to 1 1/8" - 1 1/2" men and 1" - 1 1/4" for women. Maybe the women's weight throw should also be 17". The women's weight toss for over the bar should be perhaps an inch shorter than the men's as well.
Hammer throw: I suggest changing the women's hammers to Women: #10 and #14. and reducing the total length of the women's hammer to 48
Appropriate metals for the hammer head include iron, steel, brass, and other alloys harder then brass. Lead is appropriate as a filler metal only, and must be fully encased in a 1/4"-thick metal shell. All-lead hammers tend to lose weight as the lead rubs off over the months of usage and handling. Also there are also environmental concerns of exposed lead. It rubs off into the fields where children subsequently play. Would you transport lead hammers and weights to-from games in the back seat well of your car or SUV, and the your kids touch this area?
It is not a problem now, but there should also be minimum and maximum diameters or displacement volumes for the hammer and weight heads. In track and field, some manufacturers started using exotic, expensive filler metals such as tungsten and even liquid mercury, to achieve a smaller head, and thus a longer chain and longer radius. The minimum diameter rule put an end to this. A lead-filled steel or brass shell should easily pass the minimum diameter, and a solid iron ball should be close to the maximum diameter.
Clarification of feet in fixed position rule: this rule was put in to prohibit turns as in the track & field hammer throw. Some pivoting, wiggling, rocking of the feet or lifting of the heel or toe has to be allowed as long as the foot is not lifted completely off the ground, or the foot is not dragged or slided along the ground. The spirit of the rule was to prevent turning. After the hammer is released, foot-lifting, dragging, and reversing are allowed.
Determination of places and ties:
I want to clean up the tiebreaking procedure in this section. I also want to combine tiebreakers and additional record attempts. Here is my proposed rule:
Extra attempts:
When only one athlete remains in the competition and no tiebreaking procedure was done, that athlete is entitled to continue until they have missed three consecutive times. The height to which the bar is to be raised shall be decided after consulting the wishes of that athlete. The athlete may choose to attempt new games, national, continental, or world records. (First-place athletes determined by tiebreaking procedure are not entitled to raise the bar for record attempts because they have already missed three consecutive attempts in the competition proper.) Records must be broken by at least one inch (weight toss) and 2" (sheaf). The bar must always be raised by at least 3" in the weight and 6" in the sheaf, except to raise the bar to a record-breaking attempt.
