Monday, August 30, 2010
Athletics Meeting.
What day is it?
Apparently it has been a Monday - but of course it has not been a normal Monday; the shop doesn't open on a bank holiday Monday.
Which is just as well - for we were able to give time to Crawley Athletics Club.
It was a very good meeting - just like the good old days, when athletes turned up in their hundreds.
There had been a real dip in interest a few years ago and the timekeeping could feel a bit boring.
But today it was full of interest and kept us busy for 5 hours.
I had hoped to do a photo diary of the day - but once the track running started there just wasn't time - hardly time to drink a cup of tea.
There were 6 timekeepers - which is enough. And because there was also electric timekeeping we were not much more than a back up.
Before the meeting started, I grabbed a cup of tea and tried to take some pictures of the hammer competition.
That hammer competition certainly upset the timetable for field events, with over 40 competitors.
One of the competitors was Mick Jones - British record holder (very much in the autumn of his career now).
As you see - it can be hard from outside the cage to get a good shot.
At least I have Mick and hammer in the picture - some of my attempts were lacking either athlete or implement!
They whirl that thing round pretty fast.
There's the stand - it was much fuller a little later.
As I walked back there were athletes on the track warming up before their sprint races.
Were my children ever that small?
It is the job of the track judges to agree on the order that athetes finish - and also to make sure all the rules are adhered to.
The timekeepers time of course.
And there is Jim, one of the starters - whistle at the ready I think.
Apparently it has been a Monday - but of course it has not been a normal Monday; the shop doesn't open on a bank holiday Monday.
Which is just as well - for we were able to give time to Crawley Athletics Club.
It was a very good meeting - just like the good old days, when athletes turned up in their hundreds.
There had been a real dip in interest a few years ago and the timekeeping could feel a bit boring.
But today it was full of interest and kept us busy for 5 hours.
I had hoped to do a photo diary of the day - but once the track running started there just wasn't time - hardly time to drink a cup of tea.
There were 6 timekeepers - which is enough. And because there was also electric timekeeping we were not much more than a back up.
Before the meeting started, I grabbed a cup of tea and tried to take some pictures of the hammer competition.
That hammer competition certainly upset the timetable for field events, with over 40 competitors.
One of the competitors was Mick Jones - British record holder (very much in the autumn of his career now).
As you see - it can be hard from outside the cage to get a good shot.
At least I have Mick and hammer in the picture - some of my attempts were lacking either athlete or implement!
They whirl that thing round pretty fast.
So, I took a picture of Karl. He used to be a good thrower for the club. Today he was measuring distances.
There's the stand - it was much fuller a little later.
The timekeepers sit on those steps at the far end of the stand roof.
Actually the seats are beyond the roof and in rain, we get wet.
As I walked back there were athletes on the track warming up before their sprint races.
Were my children ever that small?
Well - no not at athletics events.
These youngsters are Under 11 and being sorted out for the 75metre races.
I wonder if any of their parents will look back 30 years (in 2040) with some nostalgia to their child's first big meeting.
I was looking back 30 years - Jamie was 11 and taking part for the first time. We didn't organise anything for under 11s in those days.
It is the job of the track judges to agree on the order that athetes finish - and also to make sure all the rules are adhered to.
It can be hard in a sprint race when people finish very close together to decide on the order.
I can recall today a race when 1st and 2nd were just 1 hundredth of a second apart - almost impossible to know who was the winner.
The timekeepers time of course.
Each person is responsible for timing the same position throughout the meeting - or more than one position when numbers are short.
Once the marksmen have the athletes ready, the starter whistles.
The chief timekeeper then waves to acknowledge that track officials are ready.
And there is Jim, one of the starters - whistle at the ready I think.
And so the competition was over - at the track.
Bill and I continued later at home.
I have all the results given by the electric timekeeping system and so we compared to the hundredth of a second with what we had on our watches.
Then we can work out our average error.
Bill was the victor! But he was disappointed because, for him, he had a bad day. He was nearly as bad as me!
And to be honest we were not actually that bad.
My average error over 91 times taken was 4.46 hundredths of a second.
We could fault the signal from the guns.
We expect to see a good clear flash from the gun - no, we do not start on the bang.
But our starters are not able to get good ammunition at the moment and all we see is a puff of white smoke.
People of a technical nature will realise why we don't start on the bang - sound takes time to travel.
Tomorrow I think we will go to the shop - to collect any monies and have a tidy up.
We should also go and see Julie - who has not been able to get to the shop for some weeks after a fall.
Jamie has a good blog posting - a village fete, including a picture of John
Labels: athletics
