A beginners guide to indoor athletics
December 19th 2007 15:26
With the indoor season just around the corner it is probably worth while taking a few minutes just to explain what all the fuss is about.
The indoor season takes place between December and March with the major championship usually taking place in early March.
Major competitions include the world and European championships, the NCAA (the American collegiate championships) as well as a numerous high profile events such as The Birmingham Grand Prix and The Reebok Boston Indoor Games.
This year the end of season major is the world championships held in Valencia, Spain.
All the running events are held on a 200m oval track (as opposed to the 400m version used outdoors) with banked curves to ease the tightness of the bends.
The number of events held is different with some not being well suited to indoor competition.
None of the long throws are contested indoors for obvious reasons with the shot putt the only throwing event on offer.
The 200m was dropped from major competition in 2005 because of the massive advantage being drawn in an outside lane gives an athlete making the event unfair.
The 100m is also not held with the 60m used in its place and the event being run in the centre of the arena – inside the 200m track this also means that there is no 4x100m relay although a 4x200m can be run but rarely is.
The 400m involves two laps of the track with the athletes being allowed to ‘break’ from their own lane into lane 1 after 150m having made up for the staggered start.
The hurdles also suffer with 110m/100m hurdles events being reduced to 60m and the 400m hurdles event dropped altogether.
As far as Multi-events go women to the pentathlon (60m hurdles, long jump, shot putt, high jump and 800m) where as men do the Heptathlon (60m, long jump, shot putt, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m)
All the jumps survive the transition from indoors to outdoors unscathed as do the distance events with the addition of a 1000m race.
So there you have it!
Join us for a season of athletics!
The indoor season takes place between December and March with the major championship usually taking place in early March.
Major competitions include the world and European championships, the NCAA (the American collegiate championships) as well as a numerous high profile events such as The Birmingham Grand Prix and The Reebok Boston Indoor Games.
This year the end of season major is the world championships held in Valencia, Spain.
The number of events held is different with some not being well suited to indoor competition.
None of the long throws are contested indoors for obvious reasons with the shot putt the only throwing event on offer.
The 200m was dropped from major competition in 2005 because of the massive advantage being drawn in an outside lane gives an athlete making the event unfair.
The 100m is also not held with the 60m used in its place and the event being run in the centre of the arena – inside the 200m track this also means that there is no 4x100m relay although a 4x200m can be run but rarely is.
The 400m involves two laps of the track with the athletes being allowed to ‘break’ from their own lane into lane 1 after 150m having made up for the staggered start.
The hurdles also suffer with 110m/100m hurdles events being reduced to 60m and the 400m hurdles event dropped altogether.
As far as Multi-events go women to the pentathlon (60m hurdles, long jump, shot putt, high jump and 800m) where as men do the Heptathlon (60m, long jump, shot putt, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m)
All the jumps survive the transition from indoors to outdoors unscathed as do the distance events with the addition of a 1000m race.
So there you have it!
Join us for a season of athletics!
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