UKC

... it was purely about finding the fastest, highest, longest etc., a person could do something for?

e.g.
1) I feel like a significant element of the 100m sprint is how quickly after the gun you start moving - what if we just said run 100m in your own time, when you're ready, fast as you can and we start the clock when you leave the blocks - Would the WR be any faster?

2) high jump - how far above the pole was the WR jump? mm? inches? instead of using a pole, or in addition to, we use a laser so we can see exactly how high they jumped.

3) long jump - no plastacine bar thing at the beginning, you just jump as far as you can and we measure from takeoff to landing - same thing could be applied to triple and all the throwing sports.

I feel like all these proposals would be a purer form of the action being competed in.

Any thoughts?

In reply to elliot.baker:

Yeah - people run faster in a race than in a 'time trial'.

In reply to elliot.baker:

It wouldn't make the 100m sprint particularly fun to watch.

Do the limitations of having to jump from a particular point (for long jump) etc. take away from the pure movement of the sport or do they add another level of skill?

In reply to elliot.baker:

I had these exact same thoughts only the other day. I can't help but think the integration of technology will only get more pronounced and is inevitable as the generations progress.

Something else for you to ponder over, I can't help but thinking when we will see 'the doping games'. The Olympics on steroids, literally.

In reply to elliot.baker:
Would be interesting to know those answers, but I would hope competitions don't go down that route. Racing against others is much more visually interesting. The jumping competitions would have evolved from the days when it was very useful to be able to jump over something physical, a wall, or a river. Still having a physically defined start and end point seems an important part of the competition to me.

In reply to elliot.baker:

In fact I would favour making it more interesting, put up a wall not a bar that can easily be knocked off, have a small body of water with one moveable bank that can be expanded. As climbers we should applaud the re-introduction of a bit of physical peril into the competitions, and the potential slapstick element it could bring.

In reply to elliot.baker:

Where would it end. Athletes compete at home, no need to meet up and just send in results virtually, league table published weekly....

The skill of timing your jump, your start along with the pressure of the event is what it's all about. The competitor might not be the best physically, it's the one who can hold it together mentally too on the day.

In reply to mountain.martin:


That would be particularly the case in the Winter Olympics with all the alpine skiing disciplines.