What’s The Point?

MILTON-FREEWATER - Not to put too fine a point on the problem, but when it comes to throwing the javelin, Washington and Oregon have different safety rules.

In Washington, javelins are blunted and equipped with a rubber tip. In Oregon, athletes are still allowed to use the solid steel-tipped spears that have been banned in Washington since 1989.

WP athlete Kayla Huxoll found this out the hard way during the Carnival of Speed at Mac- Hi on Friday in a rare accident that has infuriated her parents and raises serious questions about the safety of athletes crossing the state line to compete in this track and field activity dating back to the ancient Greek Olympics.

As a thrower in the third flight, Huxoll launched her javelin during warm ups and went to retrieve it. Just as she bent over to reach for it out in the field, something hit her above the foot.

"I was about to pick up my javelin when I felt a thud against my leg," the Waitsburg High School junior said. "I looked down and saw a javelin."

Instinctively, Huxoll jumped away from the weapon and it fell to the grass. It was at that moment she realized the sharp-tipped lance had just slipped back out of her leg after having pierced it several inches above her ankle.

The first thing she noticed was that the javelin didn't have a rubber tip like her own. The pain hadn't yet registered.

"Perhaps it was the adrenaline or the shock, but I didn't feel anything," the hard-to-rattle teenager said. "But I remember thinking 'what if I had been in a different position when the javelin hit me?' I'm lucky it only did that much (damage) and it didn't hit me anywhere else."

What Happened?

Mac-Hi officials much further detail on the apparent lapse of runway protocol that allowed another athlete to throw her javelin while Huxoll was retrieving hers.

Mac-Hi Athletics Director Brian Miller, who was on the other side of the field, said his school is investigating the incident.

"We're definitely looking into it to see why and how it happened and how we can stop it from happening again," he said.

Head track coach John Milleson, who wasn't near the scene either, said the field was properly flagged and supervised with event officials present.

"All precautions we could possibly take were taken," said Milleson, who has never seen a javelin accident in his 37 years as a coach. "Someone came from somewhere nobody saw. Something like that happens so quick. It was a very unfortunate accident."

Huxoll's parents, Scott and Michelle Huxoll, who saw their daughter getting hit, rushed to the scene as did others in the vicinity, and she was eventually taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Walla Walla.

It turned out Huxoll was relatively unscathed. The javelin tore through the tissue behind her bone and missed her Achilles tendon. It may be only a matter of weeks before Huxoll, who also competes for the Cardinals in shot and relay, will be back on the team.

Upset

But Huxoll's parents, her coach and Waitsburg High School officials are still reeling from the incident, wondering why another competitor was on the runway while Huxoll was in the field and why Oregon schools still allow the obviously dangerous use of steel-tipped javelins.

"I think it's irresponsible," Michelle Huxoll, her mother, said. "I don't think it's a safe thing for any kid."

Track and field head coach Jeff Bartlow agreed.

" I ' d l ike to see i t changed," he said. " It makes little sense the way it is now."

Had Huxoll been hit by a rubber-tipped javelin, she would have been bruised by it and perhaps it would have broken the skin but it would not have caused the injury it did, Bartlow said.

Former WP track and field head coach Ron Huntington, who was a volunteer at the Friday meet and coached the sport since 1967 before he retired last year, said he has never seen a javelin accident in his four and a half decades guiding various high school teams.

He saw several nearmisses, recalling one meet where a javelin throw went well off course and could have injured another athlete if shouts hadn't alerted him at the last second so he could jump out of the way.

" It was scary," said Huntington, who always warned his javelin competitors to be extra careful when going to Oregon for track meets.

Although the discus too is known as a possibly dangerous flying object during competitions, nothing beats the javelin for its potential to do harm, reaching speeds of up to 80 miles per hour in the hands of a wellpracticed, high school-aged female athlete.

Which is the reason why Bartlow and Huntington are mystified by Oregon high schools' continued use of the steel-tipped spears.

There is no difference in performance between the two styles. What matters for the measurement is where the javelin lands tip, shaft or tail.

"It's kind of a puzzle," Huntington said about the Oregon javelin rules. "If the javelin had hit her three feet higher, it could have been an extremely serious injury."

The potential for liability alone should give high schools pause, he said.

Oregon Perspective

An official with the Oregon Schools Activities Association, which represents that state's high schools in the field of athletics competition, said using rubber javelins is not a requirement of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which sets standards and rules for competition.

Individual states, however, can chose to be more restrictive. Only 17 states in the country include javelin throwing as part of their track and field events, and four of them, including Washington, require the spears to be rubber-tipped.

No Oregon schools are considering a switch to such javelins based on safety considerations, though at least three schools in the state switched after they installed new artificial turf on their track grounds and risked voiding their manufacturer's warranty on the material if they continued with the steel-tipped implements, said Brad Garrett, assistant director of the Portland- based Oregon Schools Activities Association .

A change in statewide rules would have to come as a directive initiated by member schools, and none have shown any interest in the change, he said.

About 7,000 Oregon athletes from 265 schools compete in track and field activities each year, compared to 10,000 students from 311 schools in Washington. Several accidents have occurred in both states, but reportedly none were fatal or seriously debilitating.

Millions of javelin throws occur safely each year, and high school officials should continue to focus on proper safety protocol for that activity and other track and field events, Garrett said.

"With athletics come inherent risks," he said. "But if properly administered, javelin throwing is a safe event for kids."

Putting a rubber tip on javelins may make them somewhat safer, but doesn't address the fundamental danger as much as effective supervision and events safety management, Garrett said.

The Oregon organization has a committee that reviews sports accidents and makes recommendations for changes. Garrett said he expects Friday's accident to be reviewed.

Mac- Hi's head track coach Milleson said he doesn't question the federal rules which allow the use of steel-tipped javelins even after Huxoll's accident. Nor does he plan to recommend a change.

Not Coming Back

Huxoll, who has been a javelin competitor since her freshman year and has her own javelin, isn't discouraged by the accident from continuing what she calls her favorite track and field event.

"I like the motion of throwing the javelin," she explained.

But Huxoll's mother, who was not aware Oregon athletes use steel-tipped javelins until the accident Friday, said she won't let her daughter compete at the Carnival of Speed next year unless the safety policies there are changed.

Milleson said that's regrettable.

"It's unfortunate they feel that way," he said about Huxoll's parents. "We like the competition from the Washington schools."