Weight Throw consist of a family of heavy weight throwing events, in which the objective is to either throw the weight as far as possible or as high as possible. Weight throw events are a part of the track and field events and the Highland Games.
There are two major classifications of weight throw events, which are:
Weight throw for distance : Competitions are conducted both indoors and outdoors. Indoor weight throw competitions are conducted as part of track and field events mostly in North America. Men use 35lb weight and women use 20lb.
The outdoor version is mostly a part of the highland games. Both men and women compete at two different weight classes, light weight (28lb for men and 14lb for women) and heavy weight (56lb for men and 28lb for women).
Regardless of indoor or outdoor, all throws have to be single handed, and the athlete to throw the farthest is the winner.
Weight throw for height : Weights used are 56lb for men and 28lb for women. Events are conducted in a format similar to high jump, where a bar is set at a certain height and athletes get three attempts to clear the height to move to the next height level. All throws have to be single handed. Winners are decided based on the maximum height thrown with the fewest number of misses.
Similar Sports
- Hammer throw — an Olympic track and field event in which a heavy weight at the end of a wire is thrown for distance.
- Stone Lift or Carry — involves moving stones as a test of strength.
- Olympic Weightlifting — competitors attempt to lift weights mounted on barbells to above the head.
- Strongman — a sport that tests competitors' strength in a variety of different ways.
- Power Lifting — tests of strength on three lifts: dead lift, bench press and squat.
- Caber Toss — a traditional Scottish sport in which the competition revolves around tossing forward a large tapered pole called a caber.
- Shot put — the track and field event where the participants throw a heavy metal ball for maximum distance.
Related Pages
- About the Scottish Highland Games — a traditional Scottish sporting event.
- List of weight lifting sports
- Wellie Wanging — unusual boot throwing competition.
- About Sport in Scotland
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports