Track pet peeve: HJ areas

[BillVol]

Maybe this is just a Southern thing. But if so, it is a VERY common Southern thing!

Especially at high school track facilities, the high jump area is shaped like a capital D. Make a big capital D and fill it in with Rekortan, and you have your typical high jump area -- at least in these parts.

Problem is, they put the landing mat at the wrong part of the "D." They don't put it on the curved part of the D, but along the straight part of the D. Why do they do this? If it were at the curve part of the D, there would be plenty of surfaced approach area. But for some reason, around here, they put it along the straight part of the D, wasting all that expensive rubberized surface.

You would think that one track coach around here would notice this and correct this situation, but they don't.

[Olegi2]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

I've long held views on this matter. One of the drawbacks of watching major competitions is the fact that, among the other field events, the high jump cannot be satisfactorily watched since the area is populated by so many judges, cameras, indicators, and general layabouts that it is no longer a spectator-friendly event. In Paris I had a seat near the start/finish line and all I could see of the event was the start of some approach runs and the athlete landing on the bed. I know that I could watch it on the screens but I could do that at home. At least I could if the broadcasters showed it instead of concentrating on a bunch africans running round and round in seemingly endless circles.

[Guest]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

>. In
>Paris I had a seat near the start/finish line
>and all I could see of the event was the start
>of some approach runs and the athlete landing on
>the bed.

We were very close then!!!! Now I know that the most expensive tickets are not always the best!

[Guest]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

>>. In
>Paris I had a seat near the start/finish
>line
>and all I could see of the event was the
>start
>of some approach runs and the athlete
>landing on
>the bed.

We were very close
>then!!!! Now I know that the most expensive
>tickets are not always the best!

My HJ final seats were at the apex of the curve, 3 rows up. Great for the runs. Couldnt see jackshit for women's HJ final with all the gawkers and fakers standing around all with umberellas. it is as tho the iaaf forgot that the customer is the one what bought tickets. Not officials, not press, not greenskeepers (true the french carried the administrivia and logisitics of running a track meet to new heights with the synchronized hurdle retrieval procedure) there were just too many people on the track!

[tafnut]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

There actually is some logic to the pit on the straight side of the D: equal access to the take-off. No matter where you start your approach, you have the same amount of apron to run on. That is NOT true on the straight side of the D. People who approach most directly have less apron to work with, and I've seen that become a real problem - starting your approach on grass and that transitioning to apron is a disadvantage. If you start from a more laterally displaced spot, you have all apron to work with. I agree with your rationale, but this is why many people set it up this way.

[Guest]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

Not
>officials, not press, not greenskeepers (true the
>french carried the administrivia and logisitics
>of running a track meet to new heights with the
>synchronized hurdle retrieval procedure) there
>were just too many people on the track!

I didn't see on TV how the French did it, but Edmonton 2001 had synchronized hurdle crews. Apparently something they came up with on their own for that little bit of extra entertainment. Of course they weren't performing during the actual races.

[Guest]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

taf...never looked at it that way before. But doesn't it seem like most HJers come in from the side, making the pit in the curve of the D better for most jumpers?

Also, if you're going to put the pit on the straight part of the D, why have all the wasted surface to each side? Maybe the D should be shaped more like a <, with the pit at the point.

[tafnut]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

The real issue is how much room to give. We've all seen meets where part of an athlete's run up is on the track. I think Sotomayor had a long run up and was always off the apron to begin with. (Someday someone is going to explain to me why so many jumpers have those plyometric bounds in their run up - does that help or is is just show?)

[Timer]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

The next time your viewing the High Jump and the pit seems to be located in the wrong place for the most effective use of space, check to see which direction the wind is blowing. No doubt you'll find it at their backs.

[jhc68]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

I don't understand tafnut's logic... seems to me that putting the pit at the curved side of the D-shape provides way more equal access for running space for all jumpers than vice-versa. Now that straddle jumpers are extinct the shape of approach runs is more uniform than in olden times. Current problems are:
1) Meets where two pits are being used simultaneously (as at Palo Alto in June)and some jumpers have runs that overlap into the other area
2) Jumpers with absurdly long approaches who need to stand on the track or other event areas. I used to high jump but I never understood people who ran very long approaches. If you accelerate efficiently you only need 9 or 10 steps to generate all the speed you can handle and the long approach, especially on a huge featureless apron, offers a lot more opportunity for error and mis-steps. Especially if the jumper throws in a couple of big leaps into the run up.

[DentyCracker]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

erm jhc68, read tafnut's post again

[jhc68]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

Tafnut says... "There actually is some logic to the pit on the straight side of the D: equal access to the take-off. No matter where you start your approach, you have the same amount of apron to run on. That is NOT true on the straight side of the D."

I think Tafnut has a typo and means to say on curved side of the apron in the first instance. The opposite (placing the pit on the straight side) does not correlate to having equal approach space for everyone.

[Guest]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

>Tafnut says... "There actually is some logic to
>the pit on the straight side of the D: equal
>access to the take-off. No matter where you start
>your approach, you have the same amount of apron
>to run on. That is NOT true on the straight side
>of the D."

I think Tafnut has a typo and
>means to say on curved side of the apron in the
>first instance. The opposite (placing the pit on
>the straight side) does not correlate to having
>equal approach space for everyone.

Actually, it would correlate to having an equal approach space for everyone, given that it would be at the center of a semi-circle. No matter which direction of approach, everyone has the radius of the circle in available distance.

Placing the pit in the middle of the curve would result in a shorter available distance for those approaching head on (perpindicular) versus those approaching from an angle.

The typo is in the last sentence, which should probably read "That is NOT true on the CURVED side of the D."

[jhc68]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

Asterisk... being in the center of a semi-circle would maximize and equalize approaches IF jumpers ran straight at the bar. But, given the reality that virtually all jumpers flop and use a J-shaped run up, then having the pit on the curved end makes more sense. Jumpers run straight but off center in relation to the pit, then cross-step into an arc that brings them parallel to the bar at take off. If a jumper carves a wide arc and has a long run up then he/she finds the start of the run outside the semi-circle and on the track. Jumpers with a tighter arc on their J-approach find that they have more space for the first part of their run within the semi-circle. Basically, the shape of the run ups matches the shape of the apron if the pit is at the curved end, while placing the pit on the straight end does not.

[gh]

Re: Track pet peeve: HJ areas

I certainly didn't count how many jumpers at the WC started their runup on the track, but I'm confident in saying it was "most," and also that "many" started their runup at least 50% of the way across the track. As somebody noted higher up, if you put the pit up against the track, you're then mandating that most people start their runup on the grass of the infield. This is a change in surface that nobody wants to deal with.