June 04, 2016

Hey Badger Fans!

Well, Kansas certainly lived up to its lore as we experienced quite the handful of storms. Although we had many schedule changes and setbacks, the meet was finished on time and everyone got all of their competitions in. Even though the weather was not ideal, the facilities at KU were quite phenomenal and only two years old. Multiple athletes on both the men’s and women’s side were able to prevail over the weather and competition and qualify for the NCAA National Meet.

Track and field can be very tricky to carry out with rainy weather. I cannot speak for the other events, but I can say that rain poses several challenges to throwing. The first issue is the wet ring, now it may seem odd, but it is, in most cases, actually easier to throw in a ring that is completely flooded than in one that is just wet. Your feet get soaked, but it is possibly to get better traction during the throw. However, if I do have to throw out of ring that is just wet, I have special throwing shoes that have little rubber spikes on the soles to help grip the concrete. My regular throwing shoes are just completely flat, so that would not bode well on a slippery surface. Another problem with rain is that it is very hard to keep the implements dry.  For shot put and hammer it does not matter as much, but for discus it can be brutal because even after you towel it off, water can still seep out of the cracks while you are in throwing motion. Some of my teammates like to combat this problem with chalk while others stick to towels and hope for the best. Weather also brings with it differences in wind speed and direction. It primarily affects the lighter throwing events, discus and javelin. Some winds can be extremely advantageous and sort of carry the implement through the sky, while others can be detrimental and beat it down out of its natural flight path. For throwing there are no legal or illegal winds, like there are for running and some jumping events. This means that there times or marks are noted as being wind aided and do not count for certain standings, or have time added to them to make them legal.

We are coming off of a down week, but the good weather in Madison has allowed for some great training before we head to NCAA Nationals in Eugene, OR. next week. This will be my last collegiate meet so it will be bitter sweet, but I have loved my time in the NCAA and have made lasting memories that I will never forget.

Until next time!

Kelsey Card