e-mail

Vertical Standards

Tony Dziepak, October 1998, revised February 2002

This is an article on how to make practice standards. Keep in mind that the actual competition standards may be as narrow as 8', so it is good to practice on narrow standards so you are not mentally aggravated in competition and end up fouling to the side.

For a weight toss vertical standard, I took two 2x4s: one 8' and one 10'. I attached them end-to-end with a four-foot piece so that the 4' piece overlaps 2' with the 8' piece and 2' with the 10' piece. Before attaching, cut the top end of the 4' piece at a 45-degree angle so it sheds water. Coat the end with 3 or more coats of a weather-resistant primer paint, sealer, and/or wood preservative to prevent water from soaking in to the end grain. Do the same for the top (10')piece and the bottom of the 8' piece. Paint or seal all pieces before attaching.

Stand the assembled piece where you want it. We put ours against one of the vertical poles that held a track & field hammer cage. The wood piece stood on a concrete base that held the hammer cage pole. The ground from which we were throwing was 1/2" lower than the concrete base. We decided to put the bottom of the wood piece on a brick to keep it off the ground to keep it drier. That gave us about 2" that we had to adjust for.

I drilled a 3/4" hole every six inches in the center of the 10' piece, so that the top of the hole is about 1" from the desired measurement height. I inserted 3/4", 7"-long wooden dowels to these holes. The dowels can be glued into the holes, or the dowels can be removeable and adjustable. The holes and dowels need to be pointing up approx. 3 degrees above 90 degrees in order for the bar to hang horizontal.

I insert a white-colored, plastic pipe that is 3/4" inside diameter, approx. 1 1/8" outside diameter, 5' long and use this as my vertical bar. The entire apparatus is put against a tree or telephone pole and held in place with two elastic camping tie-downs: one placed about 8 feet of the ground (as high as you can reach), and the other 1' off the ground. You can also attach it to one of the hammer/discus cage poles. The apparatus has some movement (not affixed with nails or screws) so that when the bar is struck with the weight the whole thing moves so that the dowels do not break. The heights are in 6" increments ranging from 9' to 17'6. I practice with light and heavy weights ranging from #35 to #70 pounds. This is also good to practice a vertical over-the-head toss with a heavy shot.

For the sheaf toss, I recommend a 2" diameter white-colored plastic pipe (such as PVC), which can be bought at the local hardware store or supercenter (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.). For myself, I had access to a scaffolding tower (Actually, the Marching Virginians band tower at Virginia Tech. I found a large PVC pipe that is approx, 2" in diameter and 16' long. I put it over one scaffold, and then tucked the end under the same level scaffold 6 feet in. As a result, I had about 10 feet of pipe sticking out. The pipe came out a little higher than level, but since it was only supported on one end, the pipe curved to level at the tip. I could move this pipe in 2' increments.

I have also seen a PVC pipe on rope and pulley mechanisms between two trees at people's backyards. I have also seen pipes extended from an adjustable ladder affixed to a tree, pole, or the side of the house.