Track's missing links

by nathan bryant

 The athleticism of the runners, the gracefulness of jumping hurdles, and the elevation of the pole vault and high jumping are all things people enjoy watching at track meets. The strength and the fluidity of the shot put and discus make up for my two favorite events. Despite the fun that comes with North's field events, though, there is something missing namely two other field events; the javelin and the hammer throw.

 The hammer throw seems like such a great event to include at North, it is simply a metal ball on the end of a wire and handle. The men's ball weighs roughly 16 pounds, and the girl's weighs about eight pounds. The object is to first pick up speed twirling the ball above your head then spinning around three to four times to pick up maximum velocity, and letting it go to try to throw it as far as you can. Of course some might say 'it will be hard to include the hammer throw seeing as it would need a much more open field to throw in, a big enough field that I don't think North can provide.' Well since there is no one using the practice fields next to the discus ring, that open area would be more then enough for the hammer throw.

 Another, more popular, field event is the javelin throw, which essentially is throwing a spear as far as you can. This event has been done in the Olympics since 1908 and is a common track and field event. The javelin throw seems like an event that North should definitely start to include in the field events. Many people say that the hammer throw and especially the javelin are too dangerous, but there is an easy way to fix that. If you have  dedicated coaches like coach Brune and coach Travis, then they would watch over their athletes and make sure they are safe. Also one simple way to make sure the students don't get hurt is for them to not stand downfield when other people are throwing and they won't get hurt.

 I think these two extra competitions would bring even more enthusiasm for track and a lot more fun for many throwers.