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Track and Field Newsletter-Volume 7-Edition 4
Contained in this issue:
*Special 654 and weather cover green casings
*Used Orbiters from NCAA Indoor Championships
*I Am Gill Athletics—Steve Benjamin
*Choosing the Correct Discus by Mike Willard
*Product of the Month— Pacer Pole Bag
*New Product of the Month—Gateboard Custom Labels
*Used Equipment Available
*Clearance Item of the Month— Gill LED Performance Indicator Unit
*USATF Coaches Education Program and Scholarship
Special 654 and weather cover green casings
For a limited time, we have casings for a 654 pole vault pit and the weather cover in Dark Green ready to ship IMMEDIATELY!
Normally there is an 8 week lead time for special color pits. You can have this in your hands within a week. Call me today and let me offer you a special price for these special pit casings.
Used Orbiters from NCAA Indoor Championships
Gill Athletics recently was the official supplier of high quality Orbiter Throwing Weights and Tungsten Throwing Weights at the NCAA Indoor Championships (all three divisions). We racked up many all-americans with our throwing weights and must now sell them off as used. This is your opportunity to get a limited edition throwing weight! We want to pass along a super savings to you, our valued customer. You can buy these weights used at the NCAA Championships at a fraction of the cost of a brand new one. All 90 day warranties still apply!!!
If you weren’t able to pick them up at your respective championships, for the month of April, I will give you an additional 10% off of these published prices!!! Call TODAY!!!
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3950 |
$291.75 |
Your Price $215!!!
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3959 |
$847.00 |
Your Price $593!!!
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3955 |
$326.25 |
Your Price $240!!!
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3958 |
$1,408.00 |
Your Price $986!!!
**This feature highlights the men and women of Gill Athletics who want to service you on a daily basis. We feel we have the most knowledgeable enthusiastic track equipment builders and sales force in the industry and want to show you exactly who is committed to you before, during and after the point of sale. Gill Athletics is dedicated to manufacturing the best track and field products in the world and following up with the industry’s best customer service.
Steve Benjamin
I started building javelins for OTE (Oregon Track
Equipment) back in the fall of 1998 under the supervision of Dan West and Ron
Johnson. In the fall of 1999, Gill Athletics bought OTE. This is when I
started working under the tutelage of Dick Held. In the summer of 2004, Gill
Athletics moved the javelin plant from Eugene, OR to our new plant in Champaign, IL.
I moved to Illinois because I really do love making javelins. The best part of my job is seeing and hearing about athletes doing their best with the javelins we build. Whether they throw 10 meters or 100 meters, I love to see them fly!
One of the most difficult parts of building the javelin is teaching others how to build a javelin and get it right. It’s such a precise procedure that has to be done correctly and exactly.
Personally, my family and I are adjusting to the mid west. Outside of work I have a great time with baseball, basketball and even build and race cars. Lately, we’ve even started to pick up archery.
Gill Athletics and javelins have been good to me and my family so throw far and I’ll continue building the best ones around!
Choosing the Correct Discus
It’s October 1st, the students are back in session, and it’s time to figure out what equipment you are going to order for the upcoming track season. You know you need a new discus, so you sit down at your desk and pull out your Gill Athletics Catalog and open it to page 29. WOW!! Different colors, different materials, and what the heck does rim weight mean?!! Take a deep breath, relax, and read this article. It will help you choose the correct discus for your athlete. We will focus on the two most important factors to choosing a discus: rim weight and material used to make the discus.
RIM WEIGHT
To understand why different rim weighted discus are made, you must first understand the physics of the discus. The discus is an aerodynamic implement that must be rotated around its axis. We will focus on moment of inertia, aerodynamic lift, gravity, and air friction (drag).
Moment of inertia: Discii with different rim weights have different moments of inertia. What is moment of inertia? The moment of inertia of an object about a given axis describes how difficult it is to change its angular velocity about that axis. For example, consider two discii: the 2 kilogram OTE VHM and the 2 kilogram Gill Blue. The OTE has a higher rim weight (89%) than the Gill Blue (75%). Assuming that there is a uniform thickness and radius, it requires more effort to accelerate the OTE (change its angular velocity) because its mass is distributed further from its axis of rotation: mass that is further out from that axis must, for a given angular velocity, move more quickly than mass closer in. In this case, the OTE VHM has a larger moment of inertia that the Gill Blue. Therefore it is easier to spin the Gill Blue than it is to spin the OTE.
A lot of you are asking, “If we can spin a lower rim weighted discus a lot faster with the same amount of force, then why don’t we just throw a low moment discus? Won’t they fly farther?” To answer that question we have to look at forces that we can’t see with the naked eye: air friction (drag), aerodynamic lift, and gravity. If we refer to one of Newton’s laws, “A body in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force,” while the discus is in the air, all of these three outside forces play a big part in how far a discus flies.
Aerodynamic lift: Aerodynamic lift is generated when the discus turns air away from its direction of flow. When the discus and air move relative to each other, the discus turns the air flow in a direction perpendicular to that flow, and the force required to do this creates an equal and opposite force that is lift. The discus turns the passing flow of air downward towards the ground as it passes. The force required to do this produces an equal and opposite force that is lift, and this latter force supports the discus in the air. The lift generated by a discus depends on such factors as the speed of the airflow, the density of the air, the total area of the discus, and the angle of attack. The angle of attack is the angle at which the discus meets the oncoming airflow (or vice versa). An object like a discus that has a symmetric shape must have a positive angle of attack to generate positive lift. At a zero angle of attack, no lift is generated. At a negative angle of attack, negative lift is generated.
Air friction (drag): Drag is what slows down both the horizontal and angular velocity of the discus in flight. Lift-induced drag occurs whenever a discus generates lift. With other parameters remaining the same, as the angle of attack increases, induced drag increases.
Gravity: Gravity is pulling the discus to the ground at a 9.8m/s.
To summarize, a higher rim weighted discus has a higher moment of inertia so it is harder to get it rotating around its axis. Once in flight, the rotation of the discus, or angular velocity, will keep a discus flying flat and stable. A lower rim weighted discus will lose its stability faster than a high weighted discus due to the fact that it takes less force (air friction or drag) to slow down its angular velocity. When the discus begins to lose its rotation due to air friction (drag), it will begin to lose stability and tilt one edge toward the ground. This tilting action will make the discus lose its vertical aerodynamic lift and the discus will descend quickly to the ground.
DIFFERENT MATERIALS
According to the NCAA rules, the discus shall be composed of a smooth metal rim permanently attached to a wood or synthetic body. High school rules also allow a rubber discus to be used in competitions.
Rubber Discus: The lowest rim weighted discus is one made from rubber. It is a great discus for beginning throwers because it is the most durable and it can withstand years of abuse. The drawback to a rubber discus is that it will not perform well when thrown far. It is very unstable in flight due to its low rim weight. This discus will turn to its side, lose lift and fall to the ground sooner than a metal rimmed discus.
Metal Rimmed Discus: The metal rim can be made out of either steel or bronze alloy. The steel rim is very durable and is the most popular metal used in making a discus. It holds up to cage hits or poor landing surfaces very well. A bronze alloy is often used in the higher priced discus models. Bronze is a very dense metal, so you can get a higher rim weight discus by using a bronze rim. Bronze is also a soft metal that can be damaged easily with cage hits or poor landing areas, this is the main drawback with throwing a discus with a bronze rim.
The side plates can be made from ABS plastic, wood, or aluminum. All three of these materials have a different feel to them in the throwers hand. The most durable of the three is the ABS plastic. Those plates can come in many different colors and can be used to make a discus from 70% rim weight up to 90%. One of Gill Athletics most popular discus, the Hollowood Star, has side plates made from straight grained hard rock maple wood. A block of this wood and the rim are threaded together and then lathed down by hand to create the discus. It is then triple coated with sealer and gloss varnish to keep out moisture. It is a very popular discus but athletes must understand that it is still possible to damage the wood if it hits the cage or any hard landing surface. The third material is aluminum. Many world class athletes still prefer a discus that is made from all metal. They are assembled one at a time to insure a great fit between the rim and side plate. Aluminum side plates may dent if they hit a hard surface, so they should only be thrown by experienced throwers.
SUMMARY
Always choose a discus based on the athlete and their athletic ability. The high rim weight, most expensive discus may not be the best choice for your athlete at that time. Having a wide variety of rim weighted discuses will help your athlete find one that is best suited for them. Also, as a coach, it is important to take a look at the discus in flight, if a low rim weighted discus hits the ground flat and is still spinning, it might be time to move up in rim weight. If a high rim weighted discus turns and “falls off the table” very early in flight, you might want to have that athlete throw a lower rim weighted discus. When the time comes, use this information to make smart purchasing decisions that will help your athletes get more distance on each throw by improving the flight of the discus.
Product of the Month
Carry up to five poles in style with the Pacer pole bag. Made of heavy duty vinyl and leather reinforced ends for extra long life. Adjustable from 14'6" to 17'6" in 1' increments for different pole lengths. Comes in red/gray only.
Call today for a quote on one of the most popular pole vault bags in the industry. CALL TODAY!!!
New Product of the Month
Gateboard Custom Labels
#94641
Now you can have a custom label on your hurdle gateboard that is reusable, non-permanent and attractive to sponsors.
Take a 32” x 2” label that goes over your existing artwork and advertises your special meet. If you don’t add the year the meet is taking place, you can reuse your multi-colored custom label YEAR AFTER YEAR.
Imagine how attractive this will be when you host your conference meet!
Tired of the same one colored school name or logo on your gateboard? Purchase this new multi-colored custom label to go over your existing gateboard. New gateboards can run an average of $20 a board! Save money by not ordering new gateboards but get custom labels instead! Custom labels run half the price!!!
Have a special Invitation held every year? Get your sponsors name on each of your hurdles at a fraction of the cost!!!
Call today and let’s discuss the awesome opportunities this opens up to you and your program!
Used Equipment Available
The following equipment used at major national meets (USATF National Meets) is available at a reduced cost for you.
Contact Mike Cunningham at 800-637-3090 x116 today!
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QTY |
CATALOG |
SALE |
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ITEM# |
GILL ITEM DESCRIPTION |
AVAIL |
PRICE |
PRICE |
SAVE! |
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Pole Vault/High Jump |
|
|
|
|
|
|
U730110 |
International Pole Vault Standards |
1 |
$4,965.00 |
$3,848.00 |
22% |
|
U730120 |
International High Jump Standards |
1 |
$1,056.00 |
$819.00 |
22% |
|
U731109 |
PV Standard/Cage Door Pad |
2 |
$254.00 |
$197.00 |
22% |
|
U950 |
Telescoping Crossbar Placer |
8 |
$156.00 |
$117.00 |
25% |
|
U725 |
Portable Pole Rack |
1 |
$118.00 |
$89.00 |
25% |
|
UWE305 |
Chalk Container |
2 |
$144.00 |
$108.00 |
25% |
|
U768 |
Aluminum Pit Cart |
2 |
$2,195.00 |
$1,594.00 |
27% |
|
Throwing Equipment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
U732250 |
NCAA Portable Indoor Cage |
1 |
$8,117.00 |
$6,088.00 |
25% |
|
U35441 |
600g Gill Javelin 40m |
1 |
$193.50 |
$145.00 |
25% |
|
U780031 |
800g Pacer Astro 70m |
1 |
$303.75 |
$229.00 |
25% |
|
U3294 |
4K Indoor Hardshell Shot (8.8 lb) |
2 |
$51.50 |
$38.00 |
26% |
|
U3216 |
16 lb Indoor Hardshell Shot |
2 |
$71.15 |
$53.00 |
26% |
|
U735940 |
4K Pacer Stainless Steel Shot, 95mm |
1 |
$119.75 |
$91.00 |
24% |
|
U735941 |
4K Pacer Stainless Steel Shot, 109mm |
2 |
$140.50 |
$107.00 |
24% |
|
U3516 |
16 lb Brass Shot, 110mm |
3 |
$123.00 |
$93.00 |
24% |
|
U3950 |
20 lb Orbiter Indoor Throwing Weight |
4 |
$291.75 |
$215.00 |
26% |
|
U3955 |
35 lb Orbiter Indoor Throwing Weight |
6 |
$326.25 |
$240.00 |
26% |
|
U3958 |
35 lb Tungsten Orbiter Throwing Weight |
8 |
$1,408.00 |
$986.00 |
30% |
|
U3959 |
20 lb Tungsten Orbiter Throwing Weight |
9 |
$847.00 |
$593.00 |
30% |
|
U867 |
Implement Stop Kit |
1 |
$616.00 |
$462.00 |
25% |
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Starting blocks, hurdles, carts |
|
|
|
|
|
|
U4060 |
Collegiate Aluminum Hurdle (41") |
1 |
$157.00 |
$122.00 |
22% |
|
U414 |
All Surface Starting Block |
11 |
$72.20 |
$57.00 |
21% |
|
U73016505 |
False Start Bracket for Fusion blocks |
18 |
$12.00 |
$8.50 |
29% |
|
U924 |
Scholastic Starting Block Cart |
2 |
$600.00 |
$400.00 |
33% |
|
U733630 |
Gill Flight Hurdle Cart (41") |
4 |
$267.25 |
$208.00 |
22% |
|
U733631 |
Gill Flight Hurdle Cart (47") |
4 |
$274.50 |
$213.00 |
22% |
|
U935 |
Discus Cart |
2 |
$670.00 |
$519.00 |
23% |
|
U936H |
Hammer Cart |
3 |
$529.00 |
$410.00 |
22% |
|
U934 |
Shot Put Cart |
3 |
$506.00 |
$393.00 |
22% |
|
U925 |
Javelin Cart |
3 |
$714.00 |
$554.00 |
22% |
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Electronics |
|
|
|
|
|
|
UE39830 |
Gill LED Performance Indicator Unit |
6 |
$1,082.00 |
$866.00 |
20% |
|
UE39837 |
Double Unit Aluminum Tray |
3 |
$145.50 |
$117.00 |
20% |
|
UE39838 |
Performance Indicator Cart (max capacity 2 trays) |
3 |
$509.00 |
$406.00 |
20% |
|
UE39857 |
6" Digit Clock Carrying Case |
1 |
$333.50 |
$250.00 |
25% |
|
UE39820 |
Countdown Timer/Wind Indicator |
3 |
$718.00 |
$540.00 |
25% |
|
UE730U |
Ultrasonic Wind Gauges |
3 |
$1,559.00 |
$1,209.00 |
22% |
|
U39820 |
LCD Countdown Timer/Wind Indicator |
1 |
$766.40 |
$480.00 |
37% |
|
E73730 |
LJ/TJ Laser Measuring Device |
2 |
$2,920.00 |
$2,263.00 |
23% |
|
MISC-Aluminum, Weight Equipment, etc |
|
|
|
|
|
|
U721 |
International Finish Posts |
1 |
$557.00 |
$433.00 |
22% |
|
U455 |
Guided Pit Leveler |
2 |
$271.50 |
$228.00 |
16% |
|
U8540 |
Track Lane Gate |
6 |
$913.00 |
$730.00 |
20% |
|
85640 |
Aluminum 4 Row Bleacher-15' |
1 |
$1,999.00 |
$1,525.00 |
24% |
|
8663 |
Pit Gargage, 663 and Smaller |
1 |
$15,000.00 |
$10,000.00 |
33% |
|
U730620 |
LJ Distance Marker (16'-30') |
2 |
$1,291.00 |
$1,098.00 |
15% |
|
U730640 |
TJ Distance Marker (37'-56') |
2 |
$1,708.00 |
$1,452.00 |
15% |
|
U730147L |
Long LJ/TJ Mesh Sand Pit Cover-11'6"x32' |
2 |
$1,002.00 |
$777.00 |
22% |
|
U95511 |
10' x 10' White Wall Panel |
1 |
$82.20 |
$64.00 |
22% |
|
UWE525 |
Standard Plate Holder |
6 |
$77.00 |
$62.00 |
19% |
These items are barely used! You may see a small scratch on a pole vault cross bar, or one or two spike marks on a pit, but there is absolutely no major wear and tear. I personally inspect ALL ITEMS before they are shipped out. This is an excellent way to get big ticket items at small ticket prices!
Clearance Item of the Month
Gill LED
Performance Indicator Unit
#UE39830
The plug and play, stackable, expandable concept in Indicator Systems. With 8˝” x 6” digits, this display is highly visible from 100 meters. Each individual unit displays four figures, runs off 120V power or 12V battery and comes with its own remote. If optional cable and software is purchased, unit may be controlled via laptop or PC. Multiple units offer the ability to display various data, from competitor’s name and results to the time of day. Units will accept and display information from Lynx and Field Lynx. (Scripts available from Lynx.) These displays were used at the 2006 Millrose Games and USATF Indoor Championship to display information from Lynx Systems. Expand your system to fit your needs by housing multiple units inside a customized, stackable tray. Trays can be single or double stacked and mount securely to the E39838 cart for easy mobility.
This beautiful LED Performance Indicator will be used at the 99th running of the Drake Relays. I have six units available along with Double Unit Aluminum Trays (E39837) and Performance Indicator Carts (E39838). Call today to get a great price on a great piece of equipment.
Clearance Items Available
Speaking of great prices, don’t forget to check us out on the web HERE for more clearance items available for your program. These items are priced to sell so get yours today before they are gone!
Coaches Education Program
USA Track & Field
Coaching Education Program
presented by Gill Athletics
2007 Level 1 · Level 2 · Level 3 · ITC
For more information please visit: http://www.usatf.org/groups/Coaches/education/ or Contact Mike Corn at: mcorn@cox.net or 504-734-7902
Level 1
Schools highlighted in yellow are new to the
calendar.
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Date |
Location |
School Information |
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7/12-14/08 |
Rice University - Houston, TX |
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7/11-7/13/08 |
Truman State University - Kirksville, MO |
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6/16-17/08 |
Stillwater HS - Stillwater, MN |
Gill Scholarship
Gill Athletics has two Level I and one Level II scholarship remaining for 2008. To apply, please click on http://www.gillathletics.com/pdf/Coaches%20Ed%20Application.pdf.
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**And as always, if there is ever anything we can do to help your program out in anyway; please don’t hesitate to contact us at 800-637-3090 ext 116.**
If you wish to no longer receive this email, please email Mike Cunningham (email: mcunningham@gillathletics.com) with the word REMOVE in the subject.