Physical & Health Education · Lesson 3

Track and field facilities, rules and techniques

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: sprints, start styles, relays and takeover zones, hurdles, middle and long distance races; throws – discus, javelin, shot put; jumps – high jump, long jump, pole vault, triple jump; facilities, equipment, rules, officiating and safety)

WAEC: athletics (track and field), practical and theory

NECO: athletics (track and field), practical and theory

What you will learn

Classify athletic events and describe the standard track.
Describe sprint starts, commands and the current false start rule.
Explain relay takeover zones and baton exchange methods.
State hurdle specifications and technique.
Describe middle and long distance races, the steeplechase and marathon.
Name track officials and their duties and state safety measures.
Describe facilities, techniques and rules of the long, triple and high jumps and pole vault.
Describe facilities, techniques, rules and safety of the shot, discus, javelin and hammer.
Plan teaching and training in athletics.

Key points

Track 400 m, 8 lanes × 1.22 m; anticlockwise; torso finish.
Bunch, medium, elongated starts; crouch start compulsory up to 400 m.
Commands: “On your marks”, “Set”, gun; over 400 m: “On your marks”, gun.
False start: disqualification (TR16.8), except combined events.
4 × 100 m: 30 m zone, non-visual; 4 × 400 m: 20 m zone, visual.
Hurdles: 1.067 / 0.838 / 0.914 / 0.762 m; 10 hurdles; 3 strides between sprint hurdles.
Steeplechase 28 + 7; marathon 42.195 km.
Officials: referee, starter, recall starter, clerk of course, umpires, judges, timekeepers.
Long jump measured from take-off line; triple jump hop (same foot), step (other), jump (both).
High jump: one-foot take-off, three consecutive failures; Fosbury flop 1968.
Shot 7.26/4 kg, 2.135 m circle; discus 2/1 kg, 2.50 m; javelin 800/600 g, tip first; sector 34.92°.
Safety: throw on signal, carry implements back, rake pits, use cages, first aid ready.

Start here: Athletics: meaning, classification and the track

Athletics (track and field) is the group of sporting events based on running, jumping, throwing and walking. It is the oldest organised sport (the first recorded ancient Olympic event was a foot race) and is often called the “mother of sports” because its skills underpin almost every game. The world governing body is World Athletics (formerly the IAAF; renamed in 2019). In Nigeria the sport is run by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

Classification

Track events: sprints (100 m, 200 m, 400 m), hurdles (100 m H women, 110 m H men, 400 m H), relays (4 × 100 m, 4 × 400 m), middle distance (800 m, 1,500 m), long distance (3,000 m steeplechase, 5,000 m, 10,000 m).
Field events: jumps (high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump) and throws (shot put, discus, javelin, hammer).
Road events: marathon (42.195 km), road races, race walking.
Cross-country: running over natural terrain.
Combined events: decathlon (men, 10 events over two days: day 1 – 100 m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 m; day 2 – 110 m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, 1,500 m) and heptathlon (women, 7 events: day 1 – 100 m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 m; day 2 – long jump, javelin, 800 m).

The standard track

A standard outdoor track is 400 m round, with two straights and two bends, normally 8 lanes (some have 9). Each lane is 1.22 m ± 0.01 m wide, marked by 5 cm white lines; the lane line on the right of each lane is part of that lane. The 400 m distance is measured 0.30 m from the inner kerb of lane 1 (0.20 m from the line in other lanes). Races run in lanes round a bend have staggered starts so everyone runs the same distance. Races are run anticlockwise, with the left hand to the inside. The finish line is common to all races.

Finishing

An athlete finishes when any part of the torso (trunk), not the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet, reaches the vertical plane of the nearer edge of the finish line. That is why sprinters “dip” at the line. Fully automatic timing with photo finish is used at major meetings; hand times are used at school level.

Worked example 3.1 (JAMB style)

The width of a lane on a standard track is (A) 1.00 m (B) 1.22 m (C) 1.50 m (D) 2.00 m. Answer: B.

Worked example 3.2

Which part of the body must cross the line for a finish to count? The torso.

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Practice questions

1. The width of a standard track lane is

1.22 m
1.00 m
1.50 m
2.00 m

Show answer

A: 1.22 m
± 0.01 m.

2. In lane 1, the 400 m is measured

on the kerb
1.22 m from the kerb
0.10 m from the kerb
0.30 m from the inner kerb

Show answer

D: 0.30 m from the inner kerb
0.20 m from the line in other lanes.

3. The height of the women’s 100 m hurdles is

0.914 m
0.762 m
0.838 m
1.067 m

Show answer

C: 0.838 m
Men’s 110 m H: 1.067 m.

4. The distance between hurdles in the men’s 110 m hurdles is

13.72 m
9.14 m
8.50 m
35 m

Show answer

B: 9.14 m
13.72 m to the first hurdle.

5. In the 400 m hurdles the hurdles are spaced

35 m apart
9.14 m apart
45 m apart
8.50 m apart

Show answer

A: 35 m apart
45 m to the first, 40 m from the last.

Key words

Stagger: Staggered starting positions so all lanes run equal distance.
Crouch start: Start with hands on the ground, used up to 400 m.
False start: Leaving before the gun (or reaction under 0.100 s).
Takeover zone: Area in which the baton must be passed.
Anchor: Last runner in a relay.
Lead leg: First leg over a hurdle.
Trail leg: Second leg, brought round the side of the hurdle.
Breakline: Line after which athletes may leave their lanes.
Kick: Final sprint in a distance race.
Take-off board: Board from which long and triple jumps start.
Fosbury flop: Back-first high jump style.
Stop board: Curved board at front of shot circle.

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