Athletics

Women generally run the same distances as men although hurdles and steeplechase barriers are lower and the weights of the shot, discus, javelin and hammer are less. has produced many other stuffed animals, some of which are variations of Beanie Babies:. Men and women do not compete against each other. Ty Inc. With the exception of the mile run, races based on imperial distances are rarely run on the track anymore since most tracks have been converted from a quarter mile (402.3 m) to 400 meters; all recordkeeping for imperial distances has been discontinued. Like the Internet stocks of the period, this was a recent example of an economic bubble. 300 m) are run much less often. Estimates of the number of each Beanie Baby that would survive years into the future were much lower than the reality, however, and much like the Cabbage Patch Kid phenomenon, so many people had similar plans that very few people profited from the craze.

There are other variations besides the ones listed below but races of unusual length (e.g. Ty fed the frenzy by systematically "retiring" various designs of Beanie Babies and ceasing their production. They also consist of the javelin, hammer and discus throws; however, often these are outside of the stadium because they take up a large amount of space and may damage grass fields. In a buying frenzy reminiscent of the Cabbage Patch Kid mania of the early 1980s, several speculators purchased these collectibles en masse in hopes of making a fortune years later from being able to sell rare specimens. Field events consist of the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump and shot put. Starting in late 1996, a faddish craze of collecting Beanie Babies began. Recently these fields have been made out of astro turf or field turf instead of grass. The bear model was frequently used for commemorative purposes, and special bears such as a Fourth of July model and even a Diana, Princess of Wales commemorative were created.

Often schools will place a field in the middle of the track, usually football/soccer/lacrosse, due to their size and shape. One popular "series" within the Beanie Baby menagerie was the use of teddy bear-shaped Beanies, the basic pattern of which was repeatedly re-used, but with different colors and names. This can be inside or outside the track, making for a tighter turn or a wider turn. As the years went on hundreds of different Beanie Babies were created, often resorting to more obscure animals such as aardvarks or chameleons in the process. The track consists of 6-10 lanes and for the bigger collegiate tracks, a steeplechase lane with a water pit. Beanie Babies are a kitsch cubicle decoration, especially for women. Usually the tracks are 400 meters, however, some old tracks are still measured in yards, so they measure 440 yards. Intended as upscale children's toys, they became a popular adult gift item.

The outdoor track and field season begins in the spring and may last through the summer. The condition of the hang tag is one of the main factors in determining a Beanie Baby's value, and hard plastic covers molded in a heart shape are available for its protection. For multi-event athletes there is the Pentathlon for women (consisting of 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800m) and heptathlon for men (consisting of 60m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000m). This information was all contained on a red, heart-shaped hang tag usually affixed to the animal's ear. In some countries, notably Norway, standing long jump and standing high jump are also contested. For example, the poem of Bongo the monkey went:. weight throw. Each Baby came with his or her own name, a birthday date, and a simple poem describing their personality.

Other events unique to indoor meets (especially in the United States) are the 300m, 600m, 1000m and 35 lb. The official Beanie Babies were mostly in the shape of animals, such as dogs, cats, pigs, hippos, and others and were all brightly colored and stylized. The longer throws of javelin, hammer and discus are reserved for outdoor meetings, as there is normally not enough space in an indoor stadium to house these events. Ty claimed rightful ownership of the name and of all of the designs of their various "beanies." There have been imitations by other companies that jumped onto the idea of creating beanbag-like stuffed animals, however, including one imitator who even produced a tie-dyed bear (reminiscent of Ty's "Garcia"), as well as parodies such as the "Meanie Babies". In the field events, indoor meetings only feature the high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump and shot put. The original Beanie Babies were made by Ty Warner through his company Ty Inc. Indoor meets also have the addition of a 3,000 m run , normally instead of the 5000m(at both the collegiate and elite level). A Beanie Baby is thus a form of bean bag.

In an indoor track meet athletes contest the same events as an outdoor meet with the exception of the 100 m and 110 m/100 m hurdles (replaced by the 60 m sprint and 60 m hurdles at all levels), and the 10,000 m run and 3,000 m steeplechase. A Beanie Baby is a stuffed animal filled with plastic pellets, or "beans," rather than stuffing (see PVC). Often an indoor track will have banked turns to compensate for the tight bends. They are smaller versions of holiday-themed Beanie Babies, similar to the Teenie Beanies but of better quality. The indoor track consists of four to six lanes instead of the eight to ten on an outdoor track. Jingle Beanies / Basket Beanies / Halloweenie Beanies: a seasonal product, sold during Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. Most indoor tracks are 200 meters, however, less frequently, there are smaller and larger tracks that measure from between 180 to 300 meters. Teenie Beanies: smaller versions of Beanie Babies that were used as free giveaways in McDonald's Happy Meals on three different occasions.

There is an indoor season, run during the winter and an outdoor season, run during the spring and summer. Punkies: extremely fuzzy animals. There are two seasons for track and field. Pluffies: stuffing-filled animals, with a terrycloth-like fur. Both organizations allow athletes to receive money for racing putting an end to the "shamateurism" that existed before. Pinkys: pink stuffed animals. An additional, less structured organization, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) also exists in the USA to promote road racing. (These are not a type of Beanie Baby, although due to the word "Classic," some people may incorrectly believe that the name refers to the "original 9" Beanie Babies).

A new governing body called The Athletics Congress (TAC) was formed, it was later renamed USA Track and Field (USATF or USA T&F). Classic: stuffing-filled animals. The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) was the governing body in the United States until it collapsed under pressure from advancing professionalism in the late 1970s. Beanie Buddies: larger versions of Beanie Babies, filled with stuffing. The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in 1983. Baby Ty: various baby animals and humans in cute-little baby clothes. An international governing body, the IAAF was founded in 1912.

Women were not allowed to participate in track and field events in the Olympics until 1928. Athletics was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been part of the program ever since, providing the backbone of the Olympics. Many athletic events have an ancient origin and were already conducted in competitive form by the ancient Greeks. Field events (jumping and throwing) often take place in the field in the centre of the running track.

Modern athletic events are usually organized around a 400 metre running track, on which most of the running events take place. There are details of the meeting in a series of letters written 60 years later by CT Robinson who was a pupil there from 1838 to 1841. The earliest recorded meeting was organised at Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1840 by the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt. The Royal Military College, Sandhurst has claimed to be the first to adopt this in 1812 and 1825 but without any supporting evidence.

This included the incorporation of regular sports and exercise into school regimes. After this ban was lifted in the 17th century sports began to flourish once more, but it was not until the 19th century that organization began to appear. However, at least in Britain, they fell out favour between the 13th and 16th centuries due to government restrictions on sports aiming to reduce the practice of archery. Many athletic sports have found favour in Europe throughout the ages.

Contests between rivals and friends may have been common on both official and unofficial grounds. In the Middle Ages the sons of noblemen would be trained in running, leaping and wrestling, in addition to riding, jousting and arms-training. However these were often related to training to war, and were not very well organized. Other peoples enjoyed athletic contests, such as the Celts, Teutons and Goths who succeeded the Romans.

There were several other "Games" held throughout Europe in later eras:. The earliest recorded win was at these games in the stade race. Athletics was the original sport at the first Olympics back in 776 BC where the only event held was the stadium-length foot race or "stade". .

The word is derived from the Greek word "athlos" meaning "contest". Athletics, also known, especially in American English, as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events, which can roughly be divided into running, throwing, and jumping. Decathlon. Heptathlon.

Pentathlon. Composite events