Your most obnoxious competitor?

[jhc68]

Never mind Usain, who may just be youthful and over-the-top.
Which of us knew competitors who were just plain evil?

In high school I used to high jump against a guy whose identity I don't want to even hint about because he is still a high-profile figure in track and field and maybe he has changed over the years. Anyway, more than once I saw him "RF" (his term) a certain jumper during competitions.

The victim was an exceptionally shy but very talented jumper who never spoke to anyone and had one of those extraordinarily long pre-jump rituals. He would stand at his mark seemingly forever, eyes downcast, rocking gently back and forth, then rock a couple of times more dramatically and finally start his approach.

The obnoxious guy would whisper to the rest of us sitting around, "Watch this!", and just as the quiet kid was about to take his first step, the obnoxious guy would flip the on switch to the little radio he kept in his equipment bag with the volume on maximum and then loudly apologize, "Oh, man, I'm sorry, did that bother you?" Then the quiet kid would have to start his routine again but with hardly any time left. Meanwhle, the obnoxious guy would chuckle and kick back very self-satisfied. Nasty... sort of an athletic Eddie Haskell.

[EPelle]

I had a competitor in USA high school who was marginally better than the best of us, but who sometimes lost. He was known for putting in surges in the middle of races to the tune of 59-60 on the third lap of the 1.600m and yelling, "Come on boys, aren:t you going to chase me this time?" He:d tire on the last lap, but still manage 63-64 and usually beat us to the finish line -- but not always. What was annoying was that not only was he cocky on the field, his family had shirts made up that had his name on it. "So-and-so:s Mother"; "So-and-so:s Father"... etc. Another annoying thing he did once was line up against me in a 4x800m on the first leg and dictate to us who would finish second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively, behind his opening 1.41. Idiot. I beat him with a 1.52 split.

[Cooter Brown]

The most obnoxious display I've seen was from some parents and grandparents watching their daughter PV at the state meet years ago (she won). The half dozen of them held hands and while other girls were on the runway would loudly chant "PLEASE JESUS MAKE HER MISS, PLEEEAASSSE JEESSUSS!" When she did they would throw their arms in the air and shout "PRAISE THE LORD! HALLELUJAH!"

I was completely captivated. I was sure a snake was gonna appear and someone would start speaking in tongues.

[lonewolf]

Re: Your most obnoxious competitor?

The obnoxious guy would whisper to the rest of us sitting around, "Watch this!", and just as the quiet kid was about to take his first step, the obnoxious guy would flip the on switch to the little radio he kept in his equipment bag with the volume on maximum and then loudly apologize, "Oh, man, I'm sorry, did that bother you?" .

If I were the official, that jerk and his radio would have been gone from the competition. If the referee did not back me up, I would have been gone.

[paulthefan]

Re: Your most obnoxious competitor?

The obnoxious guy would whisper to the rest of us sitting around, "Watch this!", and just as the quiet kid was about to take his first step, the obnoxious guy would flip the on switch to the little radio he kept in his equipment bag with the volume on maximum and then loudly apologize, "Oh, man, I'm sorry, did that bother you?" .

If I were the official, that jerk and his radio would have been gone from the competition. If the referee did not back me up, I would have been gone.

why is it that I can both feel tremendous empathy for the shy jumper yet some part of me want to chuckle at this scene. I am ashamed of myself. jhc, what state did you go to HS in?

[malmo]

Re: Your most obnoxious competitor?

The obnoxious guy would whisper to the rest of us sitting around, "Watch this!", and just as the quiet kid was about to take his first step, the obnoxious guy would flip the on switch to the little radio he kept in his equipment bag with the volume on maximum and then loudly apologize, "Oh, man, I'm sorry, did that bother you?" .

If I were the official, that jerk and his radio would have been gone from the competition. If the referee did not back me up, I would have been gone.

why is it that I can both feel tremendous empathy for the shy jumper yet some part of me want to chuckle at this scene. I am ashamed of myself. jhc, what state did you go to HS in?

I can't imagine there is any State that doesn't have a sportsmanship clause that would call for an immediate ejection from competition for such an egregious violation.

[jhc68]

California.

It was always noisy on the field and although the jumpers sat around the infield very near the spots where competitors would begin their approaches, the judges were close-by the pits. Officials never caught on, or if they were aware, they must have just assumed it was an inadvertant act. And they tended to be old guys who were a bit oblivious, anyway. Volunteers -- you know the deal.

And it only happened with the one guy who would never have complained. If he'd done tha same with most of us, we'd have gone berserk or immediately complained to the official. The rest of us would tell the jerk to knock it off, after the fact, but once done he'd never repeat it in the same meet anyway. What we should have done was go straight to an official and report him, but we were just teens and not too smart and trying to focus on our own psychies.

[lonewolf]

California.

....., the judges were close-by the pits. Officials never caught on, or if they were aware, they must have just assumed it was an inadvertant act. And they tended to be old guys who were a bit oblivious... .

Which is why this oblivious old official always stations an official in the athlete assembly area as timer, recorder or flight coordinator..

[jhc68]

Good man, lonewolf... that comes from having been a competitor. Lots of volunteer officials haven't had that advantage.

[Cottonshirt]

I would sure like to know which athletic events actually require a flight coordinator?

Do you guys really jump that high?

[lonewolf]

I would sure like to know which athletic events actually require a flight coordinator?

Do you guys really jump that high?

Cottonshirt, since this is your fourth post and you do not append a Smiley, on the off chance this is a serious question, let me explain.

Ideally, every field event, not just the jumps, can benefit by having a "flight coordinator" to call up the competitors in the proper order and a timely manner to maintain a smooth flow of the event; especially valuable when there are multiple flights and in juggling athletes competing in overlapping events.
The flight coordinator frequently doubles as recorder or second recorder in field events other than LJ, TJ and sometimes HJ and PV where the preferred location of this official is in the athlete assembly area away from the landing pit or pad.

My response may be naive overkill but there are probably lurkers out there who actually wondered but hesitated to ask about the position who can benefit from a little officiating pedantry.

[SQUACKEE]

My response may be naive overkill but there are probably lurkers out there who actually wondered but hesitated to ask about the position who can benefit from a little officiating pedantry.

As a skinny caveman running around the track in endless circles, i had no idea bout this. BTW are the Stew.....i mean flight attendants hot? :P

[lonewolf]

As a skinny caveman running around the track in endless circles, i had no idea bout this. BTW are the Stew.....i mean flight attendants hot? :P

No, Squak, this is not Pan-Am circa 1939 -46 when all the Stew....hostesses had to be at least a 9 on the 10 scale. :lol:

[paulthefan]

Officials never caught on, or if they were aware, they must have just assumed it was an inadvertant act.

what years were you competing jhc ? I cant imagine that happening today.

[jhc68]

Decades ago in the stone ages. High school officiating at that time was well-intentioned but not very consistent. Aside from major sectional and big-name invitational meets I am not so sure that much has changed.