"The Ward Man" Ja'mari Ward in one of his patent full long jump attempts (Tony Holler image)
Here are a few of my thoughts and ideas when it comes to wind gauges:
-If you have elite sprinters and jumpers in your program/conference consider getting a wind gauge to take to meets so they can get into state/national rankings. Our athletes work hard, they deserve to be listed in rankings if they achieve the performances.
-If you have a wind gauge reach out to meet managers in advance to see if you can bring it to the meet. Some timing companies/meet managers will agree to input sprints only to avoid typing wind readings for 100+ total jumps. Hey we have to start somewhere right?
- You do not need to hire an official to operate the wind gauge. If I bring mine I will operate it or have one of my TRAINED athletes/managers run the show. Yes a teenager! I'll do the setup! Don't complain about teens operating a wind gauge when teens are allowed to rake jump pits, we like level pits right?
-Make sure all the guidelines are followed when setting up a gauge, read them closely or your wind readings could be voided. Too many gauges are blocked by spectators or are underneath timing tents, both are no no's: Click here for the guidelines
-NATIONAL MEETS NEED WIND GAUGES! It irks me when I see meets that host elite athletes from around the country but do not have wind gauges. One Illinois athlete jumped a nation leading mark a few weeks ago...so we thought. There wasn't a wind gauge used for the jumps so no US#1 mark could given.
- We have several Illinois athletes who could qualify for the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships and possibly make the World Junior team. Guess what? You must have a wind legal mark by June 12th to qualify. So give athletes multiple chances to get a wind legal performance.
-Please consider having wind legal school records along with all-condition records. At St. Rita, our FAT Frosh/Soph 100m school record is a very windy 10.39 (state meet '84) ran by then sophomore Keith Thomas who also currently holds the IHSA State Record for 100m (10.37). Not many frosh/soph kids run sub 10.4 these days, but they do run close to our wind legal school record (11.23).
-Shout out to Endurance Race Timing and Illinois Prep Top Timing, two timing companies that I know of who automatically bring wind gauges to meets.
-Shout out to the IHSA! I emailed track and field administrator Ron McGraw before the state meet last year asking him to integrate wind readings on the Eastern Illinois scoreboard after sprint races and he delivered. No more waiting two hours to see if a record sprint was wind legal- it was instant results.
-Shout out to coaches at Galesburg, Plainfield Central, and Cahokia!! They had/have national caliber sprinters or jumpers and invested in a wind gauge to bring to meets. This is beneficial to every sprinter/jumper in the field of competition, more athletes get ranked. A shout out also go to the Lake County/North Suburban Conference teams who has been using wind gauges at meets. Also, Lake Park has been using them for their competitions.
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Thanks for taking the time to read this article. I see a few upcoming meets with powerhouse sprint athletes in the field, do what you can to get a wind gauge. Good luck to you all this season. #ILFOREVER!
Feel free to comment below or email me pnealon1@gmail.com Also you can find me on Twitter too @stritatf_coachp