The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

52 ATHLETIC SPORTS OF SCOTLAND. handle, suchas is often seen at games, 4 feet 4 inches in length, H from 128 to130 feeton level ground. MATCH AND RECORD THROWING.— Atthe leadinggatherings, H such as Inverness, Luss, andAboyne, if the hammers were kept I at the same weight, say 16 lb., and the handles of the same I shape andlength, from year to year, an approximately fair esti- B mate of the comparative merits of the best throwers might be H formed. But even then it is quite possible thatthe athletewho H had thebest record mightnot be the onewho could throw a16 H lb. hammer furthest. In hammer-throwing athletes differing in height and lengthof arm require different lengthof handles to throw theirbest. With a handle 4 feet long anathlete with long arms may beat another with shorter arms. With a 4 feet 4 inches handle their places may be reversed. Now, as each thrower atpresent has to throw with the samelength ofhandle, it may exactly suit some ofthe competitors,but may be too long or too short for others, in which case those it suits havean unfair advantage. The fairest lengthfor most is 4 ft. 2 in. It there- fore follows that in a match against other athletes, or against I distance, each athlete should be allowed to use hisown hammer, I with no restriction as to material or size of ball or handle, pro- vided they both together weigh 16 lb. As to whether there I should be any restriction as to style of throwing, the want of sufficient space togive full scope toan athlete's powers with a I 16 lb. hammer, while at the sametime assuringthe safetyof the I spectators, will in many cases prevent a return to the original I style. On such grounds as the Aboyne market green, there is ample roomfor throwing anyweight any style. Restriction to I any particular style, which tends to lessen the distance the ham- I mer can be thrown, has alwaysthe drawbackthat the champion I at such a style is only conditionally a champion hammer thrower. I An athlete who claims to be champion hammer thrower must I be able, to make good his claim, to throw anygiven weight of I hammer farther than any other man. But as our Scottish I athletes at home are confined to the standing style, they make aI