Athletics and Football (extract)

154 ATHLETICS lated by the Athletic Association runs as follows ; 'The weight shall be put from the shoulder withone hand only,and without follow, froma 7-footsquare. The weight shall be of iron, and spherical, and shall weigh 16 lb. All puts shall be measured perpendicularly from the first pitch of the weight to the front line of the square or to that line produced.' The definition requires perhaps a few words of explanation. The weight must first be 1 put' from the shoulder, not ' bowled.' There have been cases where men withfine musclesof the arm and chest have been able to 'bowl' a 16-lb. weight like a cricket- ball farther than it can be put in the legitimate style. In a legitimate ' put' the elbow is directly below the hand and close to the side where the weightis delivered. Secondly, there must be no ' follow,'that is,after the weight is delivered the 'putter' must draw back and not allow the impetus given to his body to carry either foot over the front line, or he will be 'no-balled,' to borrowa phrase from cricket. Putting the shot—firpstosition. ^ hirdly, the weight must be of- iron. There really seems to be very little reason for this restriction, which, as a matter of fact, givesan advantage to men with large hands. A leaden weight is smaller and more handy, and a man witha small hand has better command over a leaden ball,and can certainly put further with it. The restriction of the nature of the metal has probably been instituted for the purpose of getting one fixed standard for estimating the relative value of performances at different places. The main point to learn in weight-puttingis to -'getone's