Safely Doing It

From unlawful to a legitimate sport. Javelin has come a long way in Idaho from where it was years ago.   

Before June 2023, Idaho was one of the 29 states that made javelin illegal to be performed at the high school level. They decided this for the many safety concerns that are associated with javelin for the spectators.

The biggest safety concern was people getting impaled by a javelin. For this reason, many states outlawed the sport, Idaho being one of them. 

However, as of this year, javelin was made legal again in Idaho, making it the 22nd state to decide to implement the sport back into its high school sports programs.  

At Lakeland High School, javelin will be offered for the 2024 spring track season.

“Many schools are very excited to be able to partake in javelin this year,” Time Kiefer said. 

Javelin has not been offered at LHS for as long as Keifer can remember. This is because the event was illegal until last summer. 

“I would seriously consider javelin because it requires a balanced amount of skill and athleticism,” Matthew Greene said.

Javelin is a single person event, meaning that one person does the event at a time. 

They have a small stretch of land to gain speed. Then, they must stop before crossing a line and then throw the pole with all the momentum from running.

The pole flies through the air and will make a mark in the ground where it impacts.

After all the javelins are thrown, two people will measure from the line the throwers could not cross to where the javelin landed.

The furthest javelin will be the only one counted, but all will be recorded. The furthest one will be recorded and scored. The furthest throw always wins.

If the thrower crosses the line or they illegally throw the javelin, they will receive a foul. When they foul, the recorder will say, “mark” signaling that the throw does not count. If the player receives too many fouls, they will be disqualified. 

 There will be no cap on how many people can practice the event, but some meets will require only the top one to three throwers for javelin. 

The event is not very likely to be at the state or district level because it is the first year that it is being offered back. They are simply running a trial to see how the event will function.

“This year is just a trial year for javelin,” Keifer said. 

This year is a make-or-break moment for javelin, being a set event in track and field in Idaho.

New precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of everyone. New tips will be installed on the javelin that are made of rubber.

 The rubber tips are estimated to help bring the injury rate during the event to almost zero. They plan to do this because they are not straight metal.

“I am worried that we might have people that could still get impaled by the javelin, but I am also excited to see the sport back because it gives students new opportunities to break new school records and enjoy a new point of track and field,” Greene said. 

However, one of the biggest concerns is that they won’t stick to the ground.

“They should make a mark, and then officials will measure from the throwing point to where the mark was made,” Kiefer said.  

There will also be a multitude of spotters to ensure the safety of the people around to track where the javelin lands and to make sure that if they assume the javelin is heading for people, to warn them.