Let's make track even more unpopular: Florida will now be announcing HS jump marks in meters - not feet and inches

Missing Running Times wrote:

Field events, in particular the throws, are suffering now. Using the metric system will not help them become more popular. This is a Captain Insano move!!!

But sticking with the current system will make them more popular? I don't get it.

And speaking of insanity, they say its definition is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Missing Running Times wrote:

We have never been metric in America, and we never will be. The metric system is not better than the imperial system...it's just another way of saying the same thing.

Lay out an objective argument for me that metric is not better than imperial. I dare you.

Raysism wrote:

Missing Running Times wrote:

Field events, in particular the throws, are suffering now. Using the metric system will not help them become more popular. This is a Captain Insano move!!!

But sticking with the current system will make them more popular? I don't get it.

And speaking of insanity, they say its definition is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Just quoting this for emphasis. People like the OP -- i.e. the Letsrun Voice of God -- are always complaining about how track is dead or dying in the U.S. And so they start a thread complaining about a proposed *change*. Clearly reporting field events in rod and cubits (or whatever it is they favor) isn't making field events more popular, any more than reporting track distances in meters rather than yards is "killing" running events (though I'm sure all the same tiresome arguments were advanced when tracks switched to meters).

BMI in imperial can be done as well. Weight in lbs, height in inches. Square height, divide into weight. Multiply by 703.

luv2run wrote:

Other Engineer wrote:

Depends on what you are doing with engineering. I'm in med devices and if you are working on an old product that started in the 70's or 80's it will likely use English measurements but anything that is from the last decade is done in metric.

Doctors might weigh and measure people in imperial units but that is just to tell the patient. BMI calculations are done from metric, x-ray or CT scan measurements are done in mm, all drugs are prescribed in metric.

BMI in imperial can be done as well. Weight in lbs, height in inches. Square height, divide into weight. Multiply by 703.

The units of BMI are kg/m^2, what you are doing is converting lb/in^2 to the correct units by multiplying by 703.

That's it. I'm never going to a track meet again!!

If I can't know when the kid jumped over my head, then I'll just say nope.

They need to get the young recognizing metric marks.

It's too late for me, though.

I want to see feet and inches and I don't want to do the math.

You Failed wrote:

Economic psychologist wrote:

Heres an analogy you might make: Should NFL europe have field measurements in meters??? That was a great 10m field goal!

Err, I don't think a FG can be that short...

Yup, it can't but it's the thought that counts and you can't expect LetsRunners to be football aficionados.

Though it would be easier in football because 1 yard and 1 meter are almost the same and can easily be rounded by the viewer.

Yes because the reason most spectators go to track meets is to see the jumps. Brilliant.

Good post, thanks

LetsRun.com wrote:

In mour mind, at all US meets, only feet and inches should be announced (unless someone is going over a barrier like 5 meters).

Good God, this sentence......

RE: Let's make track even more unpopular:

I don't think that's possible.

We should have converted back in 1975 like Gerald Ford wanted.

To those of you old enough to have been in school then, whatever happened to all those meter sticks?

LetsRun.com wrote:

Proof positive that there are way too many administrators out there. In mour mind, at all US meets, only feet and inches should be announced (unless someone is going over a barrier like 5 meters).

http://fl.milesplit.com/articles/199628-new-rule-implements-use-of-metric-measurement-in-all-field-events

WTF is "mour mind"? The rest of the world uses the metric system. The USA is stuck in the past.

I believe as a nation we have been dragging our feet long enough in the old English system. The metric system makes much more sense and isn't really that hard to understand.

It's metres.

How can you have a track in metres and not understand how far it is. Take the javelin they nearly throw it 100m how hard is it to work out.

Have you really watches scores if international meetings without understanding the distances

1 metre is just over 3 feet. I think it's just American obstinacy refusing to use someone elses system. You can see it in the way you spell it even though you supposedly don't understand it you have to spell it differently to those who actually use and invented the system.

People are just too fukking stupid.

All you have to do is give measurements in BOTH but teach all the kids metric first. At some point in the future 20-30 years, there will be so few people left that don't know metric they can change then.

Maybe then every kid will know the basket is 305 cm high and the free throw line is 457 cm from the basket.

First base is 27.432m from home and the pitchers mound is 18.4404m from home plate.

The problem in the 70s was an all or nothing attempt like what Florida is proposing and the majority chose nothing.

"The problem in the 70s was an all or nothing attempt like what Florida is proposing and the majority chose nothing."

It was not an all or nothing approach. Things like speed limit signs had both units. It was going to be a transition to metric. But the Trumpsters of the time didn't want to change, dagnabbit, and now they're kids ain't changing neither!

You seem to be unaware that international basketball courts use metric for distances. And, gaps ... American manage to play on those courts without suffering from brain-fart maths conversions.