The NHIAA:
Guns may be silenced
at future track meets
By JOHN HABIB
Staff Sports Writer

THE SOUND OF A gun going off to start the races at track meets could be a sound of the past.

Last week, the National Federation High School Track and Field Rules Committee enforced a bylaw that prohibits officials from using caliber pistols — commonly known as starter’s pistols — to start races.

The move was in response to the recent terrorist attacks.

The “guns,” which actually fire off blanks, have solid barrels and don’t propel objects.

Ed Thibodeau, rules interpreter for the NHIAA Track and Field Committee, said yesterday that he will discuss with his committee about not using the pistols for the upcoming class meets and Meet of Champions, slated for Derryfield Park in Manchester at the end of the month.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s not appropriate to have caliber pistols at an athletic event, especially during a time when we’re at high alert against terrorist acts,” said Thibodeau.

Thibodeau, the former high school principal at Londonderry who also serves as chairman of the schoolboy football committee, will recommend that other devices be used to start races.

“We could use whistles, but I’ll suggest that we use a bullhorn,” said Thibodeau.

Thibodeau said .32 caliber starters pistols are used for outdoor racing and .22 caliber pistols are used for indoor events.

“We once use to use them at football games whenever a quarter ended,” said Thibodeau.

He said even though the guns don’t fire anything, they are still dangerous.

“Believe it or not, at every meet we run, there is someone who attends the races for the very first time. It’s very frightening for someone to hear a gun go off when they don’t expect one to go off in the first place,” he said. “The last thing we want is to have an accident or scare someone, especially a month after we experienced the bombings. When you think of it, guns of any kind shouldn’t be used at athletic events.”

Starters pistols aren’t the only “firearms” at sports events — some of the NHIAA member schools continue to use miniature cannons, which also fire blanks.

Until this season, Keene High fired a cannon off every time its football team scored during home games at Alumni Field.

“We’ve had the cannon for 25 years and it was always operated by an adult who always brought it to the games,” said Keene athletic director Jim Lincoln. “We’ve never had a major accident happen in all those years. This year the guy just decided he couldn’t find the time to bring it to the games anymore.”

In light of recent events, Lincoln said “we’d have to check with our local police department just to make sure we could use it again. It makes a large noise and someone in our neighborhood who’s not use to hearing it go off could panic.”

At Pinkerton Academy, athletic director Bob Royce said a starter’s gun is used for the annual Londonderry-Pinkerton cross country race.

Royce said the issue of using starter’s guns has not been discussed but “now maybe it should. I will definitely bring it up at our Class L athletic directors meeting next week.”

Royce said the gun for the Pinkerton-Londonderry race is controlled and fired off by Pinkerton head coach Mike Clark. But Royce acknowledged that the athletic directors need to address the safety issue of using any type of fire weapon during school events


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Ain't this a steaming pile of poo

[rolleyes]

Know what the problem is with NH? All the Massholes that move up to southern NH and want what they had in MA, but with out the taxes. So they voted in shaheen and she wanted to start a sales tax.Stupid Massholes, I don't know if I want to move out of here or stay long enough to vote Carla Howell in for Governer. [url]http://carlahowell.org/[/url]

Bull shit

Hey cocksmoker, ever hear of the Biathlon?

Oh, poor babies.

Lighten up Francis. I did not write that, only put my name at the bottom. If you look it is an article... lmao


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