Athletics

52 ATHLETICS. A white line segment, about 15 yards in length, tobe drawn at from 50 to, say, 100 ft., and cards bearing large numbers stuckup at the ends ofeach line. For measuring there must be a "blind" end to the tape, 4^ ft., the extremity ofwhich mustbe held on the centralpeg, so that the real commencement is on the edge of the circle. This ensures the correct line being taken; otherwise it may be more or less of a tangent, consequently not true. If only a short (say, 66 ft.) tape is procurable, have the 50 ft. seg­ ment very accurately marked, and use a 54^ft. dummy tape end, so thatthe distancemay still be measured in a straight line from the centralpeg, and, of course, reckoned from the circle edge to the nearest cut of the hammer. An official must be appointed to see thatthe competitor does notcross the circle edgeuntil thehammer hasfallen. Hints onHammer-throwing. —In the old pre-A.A.A. days long handles, egg-shapedheads of lead, and unlimited run were the rule, the distance being taken from the last foot­ print before delivery. Under these favourable conditions, G. H. Hales,the Cambridge strong man, wonat the Inter- 'Varsity Sports four years in succession (1874-77), andwe saw him throw 138 ft. 3 in.in 1876, In practice he played havoc with the surroundings of the C.U.A.C. ground, and is reported to have thrown 145 ft. From this the A.A.A. leaped to the other extreme, andconfined operations to a 7 ft. circle, but it was found the momentum of the hammer pulled men out of the circle and it was changed toone of 9 ft. The Universities use a 30ft. circle, and the hon.sec. of the L.A.C. has invented a size of his own (20 ft.), occa­ sionally putin force for members' competitions—ameasure­ ment we have been absolutely unable tofind trace of ever having been used elsewhere. As in other matters, every contest inthis sport, regardless ofwho the promoters areor