The Color Of The PlasticineIndicator Board In The

Horizontal JumpsThe author believes that plasticine indicator boards (the boards upon

which the plasticine is applied) should be a different color from the white takeoff

board. While the white color of the takeoff board is mandated by the rules,

there is no such requirement for the plasticine indicator board. The idea is that ifboth boards are white, it is more difficult for the horizontal jumper to correctly

target the takeoff board, and this seems to be borne out by the higher number offouls committed in meets where the boards are both white.

I was in Athens watching theOlympic Games and was struck bywhat appeared to be a high numberof takeoff fouls in the long jump andtriple jump competitions. A subse-quent examination of results fromrecent international championships

revealed that all takeoff boards are

not created equal. The color of theplasticine indicator board appar-ently has a substantial influenceon the likelihood that an athlete

will overstep the board at takeoff.The large number of fouls in

Athens 2004 Olympic Games

Paris 2003 World Championships

33% White with 1 cm red plasticine

23% Red with 1 cm green plasticine

Yellowwith 5 cm green plasticineEdmonton 2001 WorldChampionships

24%

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games 36% White with 5 cm red plasticine

Table 1. Comparison of the number of fouls at recent international championships.Results are for all the men's and women's long jump and triple jump competitions,

including the qualifying rounds and multi-event competitions. The plasticineindicator board is placed after the takeoff board and is 10 cm wide.

Athens was probably due to theuse of a white indicator board that

reduced the athlete's ability to suc-cessfully target the takeoff board. Acomparison of recent internationalchampionships suggest that a whiteindicator board produces the mostfouls, whereas an indicator board

that is the same color as the runwayproduces the least number of fouls(see Table 1).

SUBCONSCIOUSTARGETINGOFTHE

TAKEOFFBOARD

The purpose of the plasticineindicator board is to assist the

By Dr. Nick LinthorneSchool of Sport and Education, BruneI University, United Kingdom

TRACKCOACH- 5466

judges in determining if the ath-lete's takeoff foot has touched the

ground beyond the takeoff line.In competitions conducted underIAAF rules the takeoff board is 20

cm wide and the plasticine indicatorboard is 10 cm wide. The plasticineindicator board is raised slightly (7mm) above the level of the takeoffboard, with a leading edge that isbevelled at 45° and covered with a

thin layer of plasticine. The colorof the takeoff board is specified(white), but the color of the plas-ticine and the plasticine indicatorboard are not.

The color of the plasticine in-dicator board apparently affects anathlete's ability to t\1rget the takeoffboard properly. Most coaches ad-vise against looking directly at thetakeoff board during the last fewstrides before takeoff. Instead, theathlete directs his gaze beyond thepit.

The rationale behind this adviceis that it is best for the athlete to

use a pre-programmed stride pat-tern during the run-up, and thatthe athlete should avoid makingadjustments to his stride lengthto correct for run-up errors as thiswill reduce his run-up speed. Ifthe athlete always uses a pre-pro-grammed stride pattern during therun-up, any errors in the position ofthe foot at takeoff can be corrected

by adjusting the starting positionof the run-up.

However, research on longjumpers and triple jumpers hasshown that even highly experi-enced athletes make correctingadjustments to their stride patternin the last few strides before takeoff

(Hay, 1988a; Hay 1988b; Lee, Lish-man and Thomson, 1982).An athlete

who does not look directly at thetakeoff board still has the takeoff

board in his peripheral vision, andso will make subconscious adjust-

~'"c:~

Having a different color for the plasticine board(as in this picture) can reduce fouling. Here Jonathan Edwards

jumps in a 1994 meet at Gateshead.

ments to his stride length to bringhis takeoff foot closer to the boardat takeoff.

This interesting aspect ofjumping technique was revealedby sport scientists who measuredthe positions of every stride in anathlete's run-up over the six trials ofa competition. Most athletes train toproduce a consistent stride pattern,but there will always be some ran-dom variation in the placement ofthe foot from one trial to the next.

As the athlete moves down the

runway, these errors in the move-ment pattern accumulate, and sothe variation in the position of thefoot at each stride increases. Forillustration, at the fifth stride from

the start of the run-up the placementof an athlete's foot may vary by 20cm among the six trials, but by the

tenth stride the accumulation of er-ror will have increased the variation

in foot placement to 30 cm.Sport scientists have found that

the variation in foot placement doesnot in~rease continuously all theway to the takeoff board. About 3-7strides before takeoff the amount of

variation starts to steadily decrease,indicating that the athlete has begunvisually guiding himself onto thetakeoff board. For most athletes

the process of targeting and stridecorrection is subconscious.

EFFECTOFCOLORONTHELIKELIHOODOFA

FOUL

The color of the plasticineindicator board apparently has a

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substantial influence on the abilityof an athlete to successfully targetthe takeoff board. Many athletes per-form their training jumps without aplasticine indicator board. Instead, ablanking plate is inserted behind thetakeoff board to replace the plasti-cine indicator board. This blankingplate is usually covered with a stripof material identical to that used in

the runway. In these circumstancesthe athlete is effectively training tohit a 20-cm-wide white target, witha successful takeoff being one inwhich the takeoff foot does not

extend beyond the front edge ofthe target.

Problems may arise in a com-petition if the target presented tothe athlete appears different to theone experienced in training. Theworst scenario for the athlete is a

white plasticine indicator board.Here, the athlete is presented witha white target, but now a successful

takeoff is one in which the takeoff

foot is 10 cm from the front edge ofthe target.

An athlete jumping under thesecircumstances may therefore be ex-pected to produce a high numberof takeoff fouls. The best scenario

for the athlete is a plasticine indica-tor board that is the same color as

runway, so that the target appearssimilar to that experienced duringtraining.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To produce consistency in thenumber of takeoff fouls amongcompetitions, the IAAF shouldstandardize the color of the plasti-cine indicator board and the plasti-cine. The best arrangement, whichwould minimize the number of

takeoff fouls, would be to specifythat the plasticine indicator board

and plasticine must be the samecolor as the runway.

It may take some time for thisrecommendation to be approvedand implemented. Meanwhile,coaches should ensure that their

athletes train using a blankingplate that is the same color as theplasticine indicator board that willbe used in competition (if known).Also, competition managers canexercise their current freedom to

choose, and decide to use plasticineindicator boards and plasticine thatare the same color as the runway.

REFERENCES

Hay, J.G. (1988a). Approach Strategies In The LongJump. InternationalJournalof SportBiomechan-ics, 4114-129.

Hay, J.G. (1988b). The Approach Run In The LongJump. TrackTechnique, 1053339-3342,3362.

Lee, DN., Lishman, J.R. and Thomson, J.A. (1982).Regulation Of Gait In Long Jumping. JournalofExperimentalPsychology:HumanPerceptionandPerformance, 8 448-459.

MY LOVE AFFAIRWITHLACTATEContinued from page 5465

system. Being able to increase anathlete's maximal lactate value

through training would help per-formance in those events that rely onanaerobic glycolysis and thereforeresult in high lactate values, suchas 400 and 800 meters. Being ableto produce lots of lactate is a goodthing.

Lactic acid is also used in the

clinical setting, where a high restinglactic acid value may indicate liverdisease or hypoxemia (deficientoxygenation of the blood). Sincethe liver uses lactic acid to make

glucose, a high lactic acid value mayindicate liver dysfunction. Alterna-tively, a high lactic acid value mayindicate hypoxemia since, in the

absence of oxygen, pyruvic acidwill be converted to lactic acid.

Although my intellectual loveaffair with lactate over the yearshas sometimes. been put on holdto study other things, our physical

love affair has always remained,reuniting with her every time I goto the track. Perhaps, someday, shewon't be misunderstood, and she

can be admired for what she trulyis.

Jason R. Karp is currently working on his PhD. in exercise physiology

at Indiana University, where he regularly takes people's blood to determine

their lactate concentrations. A competitive runner, he is a professional certified

running coach and freelance writer, still continuing his not-so-surreptitious

love affair with lactate. Karp is a regular contributor to TrackCoach, and his

writings have appeared in numerous other national fitness industry trade

journals and coaching and fitness magazines. He currently coaches athletes

of all abilities through RunCoachJ ason.com, his online coaching, consulting,

and freelance writing company. E-mail: jason@runcoachjason.com.

TRACKCOACH - 5468