Wednesday 27 August 2014

62. High Jump

Event: High Jump
Date: 24th August 2014
Location: Colchester Harriers, Arena Sports and Leisure Centre, Colchester 
Cost: Free
Rules: Competitors may begin jumping at any height announced by the chief judge, or may pass, at their own discretion. Jumpers must take off on one foot, and have three attempts at each height. A successful jump is one in which the crossbar remains in place when the jumper has left the landing area. Three consecutive missed jumps will eliminate the jumper from competition. The victory goes to the jumper who clears the greatest height during the final. If two or more jumpers tie for first place, the tie-breakers are: 1) The fewest misses at the height at which the tie occurred; and 2) The fewest misses throughout the competition.

The Event:



Heights:
Sarah
80cm     85cm     90cm
o            xo          xxx

Ellie
80cm     85cm     90cm
xxo         xxo        xxx

London 2012 Olympic Gold Medal: 2.05m. Anna Chicerova, Russia  

Comments:  
Sarah: Our lesson started with Chris showing us the women's world record jump height, which perhaps lulled me into a false sense of security. I may be short, but for some reason, I thought I was going to be quite good at high jump! Reality hit when we started with scissor jumps and I failed to clear even the most weedy heights. Luckily, we quickly moved on to the Fosbury Flop, which was far more successful. Not learning, I really thought we were going to sail over 1m, but it was still far more tricky than I expected. Despite failing the 90cm, our technique definitely improved each time we jumped, and I really worked on trying to power upwards, though clearly not enough! I'm glad we get to return to the high jump as part of the Heptathlon, as we both definitely have more cms in us! Surprisingly, high jump has been one of the events where I've had the most aches and pains afterwards. Unused muscles in my neck and shoulder definitely woke up for this one.

Ellie: I was really pleased to see the sun on Sunday morning; as I write this on Tuesday it is pouring with rain and being soggy whilst forcing my body to (try and) contort over the bar would have been zero fun. As it was a fine and dry day it was, actually, very much fun.We had a great couple of hours with the Colchester Harriers coach, Chris Akehurst, and his protege, Mia, showing us the ropes. We worked through the warm ups and the practice exercises, through to scissor jumping and to our own version of the Fosbury Flop. It was so rewarding to clear the bar and to make little tweaks and see them make a difference. I could have carried on jumping and I'm pleased that we are able to return to the High Jump when we take on the Heptathlon at some point in the future. The 1m height is calling us both and until then I can continue to practice by flopping on my bed and sofa like a proper armchair athlete!

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