USA TRACK &  FIELD RULES for the Javelin Event.

RULE 99 - THROWING THE JAVELIN

1. Requirements for a valid throw:

(a) The Javelin must be held by the grip with  one hand only, so that the little finger is nearest to the point and the  thrower's last contact with the Javelin shall be with the grip.

(b) At no time after preparing to throw until  the Javelin has been discharged in the air may the competitor turn completely  around so that his/her back is towards the throwing area. The Javelin shall be  thrown over the shoulder or upper part of the throwing arm and may not be slung  or hurled.

(c) The point of the Javelin must fall  completely within the inner edges of the lines marking the sector.

RULE 184 - RULES APPLICABLE TO FIELD  EVENTS

1. No record claimed for the Hammer, Discus,  Shot, Javelin, or Weight shall be allowed unless it has been made with an  implement that complies with the specifications for the official implements  adopted by the IAAF and USA Track & Field. The implement must be certified  as to weight, measurement, and material on the date of competition.

2. Measurements for records in field events  shall be made by three field judges, including the Chief Field Judge of that  event, under the supervision of the Field Event Referee or Head Field Judge and  shall be made and submitted in meters and centimeters in accordance with Rule  63.

3. Indoor Records may be set on runways and circles of wooden  composition. Other records may not.

4. Records may be credited for more than one  performance in a competition, provided that each record so recognized shall have  been equal or superior to the best previous performance at that moment.

5. No throwing event record will be accepted  unless the implement was impounded and recertified as legal following the  record. This paragraph shall not apply to Combined Events records.

RULE 205

JAVELIN

1. Construction - The Javelin shall consist of  three parts: a head, a shaft, and cord grip. The shaft shall be constructed of  metal or of another suitable homogeneous material, and shall have fixed to it a  metal head terminating in a sharp point.

2. The Javelin shall conform to the  specifications set forth in the table on the following page.

3. The grip, which shall be about the center  of gravity, shall not exceed the diameter of the shaft by more than 8  millimeters. It may have a regular non-slip pattern surface but without thongs,  notches, or indentations of any kind. The grip shall be of uniform  thickness.

Name____________________________800 g 600 g  400 g

Nominal Weight in Grams____________ 800 600  400

Minimum Record Weight in Grams_____ 800 600  400

Overall Length minimun Mm__________2600 2200  1850

Overall Length maximun mm__________2700 2300  1950

Length of Metal Head min. Mm_________ 250 250  200

Length of Metal Head max. Mm_________330 330  280

Distance from tip to CG min. Mm________900 800  750

Distance from tip to CG max. Mm______ 1060 920  820

Diameter of Shaft at thickest point min. Mm 25  20 20

Diameter of Shaft at thickest point max. Mm 30  25 23

Width of cord grip, min. Mm____________ 150  140 130

Width of cord grip max. Mm ____________160 150  160

Taper Measurements, from Tip mm ______150 150  125

Taper Measurements, from Tail mm ______150 150  125

Diameter at Tip Taper Measurement Point  ;0.80dia* &; 0.80dia t; 0.80dia

Diameter at Tail Taper Measurement Point  gt 0.40dia* gt 0.40dia gt 0.40dia

Diameter at Mid Point Tip to CG_________  lt;0.90dia* lt; 0.90dia lt; 0.90dia

Diameter at Mid Point Tail to CG_________  gt;0.90dia* gt; 0.90dia gt; 0.70dia

Tail Diameter min mm__________________ 3.5 3.5  3.5

* dia is the maximum diameter for the  implement.

NOTE: 600g implements complying with the  former 950mm maximum from the tip to the center of gravity will continue to be  acceptable in Masters competition until January 1, 2004.

4. The cross-section shall be regularly  circular throughout (see Note 1). The maximum diameter of the shaft shall be  immediately in front of the grip. The central portion of the shaft, including  the part under the grip, may be cylindrical or slightly tapered toward the rear,  but in no case may the reduction in diameter, from immediately in front of the  grip to immediately behind, exceed 0.25mm. From the grip, the Javelin shall  taper regularly to the tip at the front and the tail at the rear. The  longitudinal profile from the grip to the front tip and the tail shall be  straight or slightly convex (see Note 2), and there must be no abrupt alteration  in the overall diameter, except immediately behind the head and at the front and  rear of the grip, throughout the length of the Javelin. At the rear of the head,  the reduction in the diameter may not exceed 2.5mm and this departure from the  longitudinal profile requirement may not extend more than 30cm behind the  head.

NOTE 1: While the cross-section should be  circular, a maximum difference between the largest and the smallest diameter of  2% is permitted. The mean value of these two diameters must corres- pond to the  specification of a circular Javelin.

NOTE 2: The shape of the longitudinal  profile may be quickly and easily checked using a metal straightedge at least  50cm long and two feeler gauges 0.20mm and 1.25mm thick. For slightly convex  sections of the profile, the straightedge will rock while being in firm contact  with a short section of the Javelin. For straight sections of the profile, with  the straightedge held firmly against it, it must be impossible to insert the  0.20mm gauge between the Javelin and the straightedge anywhere over the length  of contact. This shall not apply immediately behind the joint between the head  and the shaft.

At this point it must be impossible to insert  the 1.25mm gauge.

5. The Javelin shall have no mobile  parts or other apparatus which during the throw could change its center of  gravity or throwing characteristics.

6. The surface of the shaft shall have no  dimples or pimples, grooves or ridges, holes or roughness, and the finish shall  be smooth and uniform throughout. Tape or any other substances shall not be  placed on the Javelin.

NOTE: If a Javelin head is constructed such  that a reinforced tip is welded to the end of the head, it shall be considered  legal pro- vided the head is smooth and uniform along its entire  surface.

RULE 214

ARC AND SECTOR FOR JAVELIN

1. Arc? ? All Javelin throws shall be made  from an arc of a circle drawn with a radius of 8m at the end of a runway 4m  wide. This arc shall consist of wood, metal, or other suitable material 7cm in  width, painted white and sunk flush with the ground. Lines shall be drawn from  the extremities of the arc at right angles to the parallel lines marking the  runway. These lines should be 75cm in length and 7cm in width.

2. Sector ? The landing sector shall be marked  with white lines 5cm wide such that the inner edges of the lines, if extended,  would pass through the two intersections of the inner edges of the arc and the  parallel lines (B and C) marking the runway and intersect at the center of the  circle of which the arc is part (A). (See diagram, page 193). The end of the  sectors may be marked by flags.

NOTE: Flags or continuous barriers should  be erected parallel and 3m outside of the sector lines for their full  length.

3. The sector for Javelin can be laid out by  making the distance between the sector lines one-half the distance from the  center of the circle from which all

measurements are made by using the table  below:

DISTANCE FROM DISTANCE BETWEEN POINT A ALONG  INSIDE OF SECTOR LINES OF SECTOR LINES SECTOR LINE (METERS)

(METERS) (METERS)

8.00 4.00

20.00 10.00

40.00 20.00

50.00 25.00

60.00 30.00

75.00 37.50

100.00 50.00

4. Inclination ? The area within the sector on  which the implement lands shall have a maximum allowance of 1:1000 in the  throwing direction.

5. Landing Area ? The landing area shall  consist of cinder or grass or suitable material on which the implement makes an  imprint.

RULE 215

RUNWAYS FOR JUMPING AND THROWING EVENTS  RUNWAYS FOR JUMPING AND THROWING EVENTS

1. In the jumping events, the length of the  run is unlimited. The minimum length of runways is 40m for the Long Jump, Triple  Jump and Pole Vault. For the High Jump, the apron is a 15m semicircle  surrounding the standards. On athletic fields used for Championship  competitions, the minimum length suggested for runways is 20m for the High Jump  apron and 45m for the Long Jump, Triple Jump, and Pole Vault runways. The runway  should have a minimum width of 1.22m (4 ft.) and a maximum width of 1.25m. The  runway should be bordered by white lines 5cm in width (except in the High Jump).  In addition, meet management may mark the entire runway outside its edge to  indicate the distance from the take-off board or the top of the back of

the stop board.

NOTE: Suggested methods of marking are as  follows:

At the take off area At the take off  area: mark lines 2.5cm wide and 30cm long from 1.5m to 4.5m in 15cm intervals  from the top of the back of the stop board.

Stenciled numbers may be added to show the  distance from the take-off board or top of the back of the stop board. Along  the runway: Along the runway: mark lines 2.5cm wide and 15cm long from 6.0m  from the back of the top of the stop board to the end of the runway in 1.5m  intervals. Stenciled numbers may be added to show the distance from the take off  board or top of the back of the stop board.

2. In the Javelin Throw, the length of the  runway should be not more than 36.5m, but not less than 30m. For Championships,  the minimum length should be 33.5m. The runway shall be marked by two parallel  lines 5cm wide and 4m apart.

3. The maximum allowance for inclination of  runways for jumping events and the Javelin Throw shall not exceed 1:100  laterally and 1:1000 in the running direction. In the High Jump, the maximum  inclination of the runway and take-off area shall not exceed 1:250 in the  direction of the center of the crossbar.

RULE 216

THROWING EVENT LANDING AREAS THROWING EVENT  LANDING AREAS

The landing area for outdoor throwing events  shall consist of cinder or grass or a similar suitable material on which the  implement makes an imprint. These areas shall be on natural surfaces, which  shall not be laid down on concrete, asphalt, wood or other hard surfaces that  would have the tendency to decrease the landing surface's absorption of the  kinetic energy of the implement.

RULE 63

MEASUREMENTS AND WEIGHTS MEASUREMENTS AND  WEIGHTS

1. All measurements, except as otherwise  herein provided, must be made with a certified steel or fiberglass tape or bar  graduated in centimeters, and all

implements must be weighed on a  govern-mentally approved scale or balance. Measurements made with fiberglass  tapes shall not be acceptable for

Records.

2. (a) All measurements of field events must  be read by the Field Judges. In the case of a record, the measurement must be  read by at least three judges, including the Chief Field Judge of that event,  and must be made in meters under the super-vision of the Field Event Referee or  the Head Field Judge (See Rule 184.2). In measuring the distances of throwing  events and horizontal jumps, the part of the tape or bar recording the distance  achieved must be held by the official at the circle or take-off point.

(b) Distances in field events

i. Shall be measured in meters and shall  always be recorded to the nearest 0.01m below the distance measured if the  distance measured is not a whole centimeter (i.e., frac-tions less than  0.01m must be ignored).

ii. In the High Jump and the Pole Vault, all  measurements shall be made perpendicularly from the ground with a certified  steel or fiberglass tape or bar to the lowest part of the upper side of the  crossbar.

3. A scientific measuring apparatus, such as a  datum line measurer, the accuracy of which is certified by a governmental Bureau  of Weights and Measures, may be used for the measurement of jumps and throws. If  such a device is used, an Electronic Measurement Judge shall be named.

Before the meet, this Judge will meet with the  technical staff involved with operating the equipment and become familiar with  it. Before each event where the device is used, the Judge will supervise the  positioning of the measuring instruments, taking account of the technical  requirements given by the technical staff. To ensure that the equipment is  operating correctly, the Judge shall, before and after each event, supervise a  set of measurements to confirm agreement with results achieved using a certified  steel or fiberglass tape. In the event of a record, this Judge will report to  the Field Event

Referee or Head Field Judge that the  measurements made before and after the event were made with a steel tape and  confirmed the accuracy of the device.