Sprint relay

The aim of the 100 metre sprint relay is, with the assistance of four athletes, to carry a baton (30 cm long, 13 cm in circumference and no less than 50grms in weight) around 400 metres as quickly as possible.

Baton exchange

The rules of relay competition require the baton to be exchanged within a 20 metres changeover zone. So that the outgoing runner can achieve maximum acceleration at baton exchange the athlete can commence his/her run 10 metres before the changeover zone. The baton exchange should occur 5 metres before the end of the changeover zone. Because of this, each athlete has to sprint more than 100 metres:

Upsweep

The receiving hand is placed with the palm facing down and a wide angle between the thumb and the rest of the fingers. The incoming athlete passes the baton in an upward movement into the receiving hand. The advantage of this method is that this is a normal position for the receiving hand. A disadvantage is that it will require some manipulation of the baton in the hand to make the next exchange safely.

Downsweep

The receiving hand is placed with palm facing up and a wide angle between the thumb and the rest of the fingers. The incoming athlete passes the baton in a downward movement into the receiving hand. The advantage of this method is that it will require no manipulation of the baton to safely make the next baton exchange. A disadvantage is that it is not a natural position of the outgoing athlete's hand to receive the baton.

 Push pass

A Push pass is where the outgoing athlete (outgoing) athlete’s hand is held facing palm forward (vertical) and the baton is pushed into the hand in a forward motion by the incoming athlete. Generally requires the outgoing athlete to have their arm out to the side thereby losing free space. Most commonly used by senior athlete apparently because of upper body muscle mass prohibiting them stretching their arm backward

 Question

 1)What are the responsibilities of the incoming and outgoing runner during the sprint relay?

      a) Describe the upsweep technique?
      b) How many metres does the baton travel during the 4*100m relay?