M70 thrower dies in Texas after being hit by discus
Clarence “Chaunce” Cook, a 73-year-old thrower, has died from injuries suffered after being hit by an errant discus two weeks ago in Elgin, Texas. Seth Brower, director of the meet where Chaunce was hurt May 19, shared this note: “It is with deep sadness that I inform you of the passing of Mr. Clarence (Chaunce) Cook. Chaunce was injured at the recent meet in Elgin. He was a masters thrower and a frequent competitor at our events, as well as the Texas Senior Games . . . I know the family thanks the throwing community, as well as all the other track and field participants, for their thoughts and prayers during these past two weeks.”
Seth’s note continued:
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations and memorials be sent in his name to:
Texas Senior Games Association
PMB 325
3501 Sycamore School Road
Ste 125
Ft. Worth, TX 76133
Services will be held this Friday, June 1, 5PM at:
Faithbridge United Methodist Church
16000 Stuebner Airline
Spring, TX 77379
We have room for a couple more if you live in Austin and want to go. We would be leaving between 1-1:30.
I didn’t know Chaunce, but I join in sending my condolences to his family and friends — and also to Seth, who must have felt awful about the tragedy at the ICS/Lions 15th Annual Championships in Elgin.
Seth says Chaunce was taken to Brackenridge Hospital, a trauma center in Austin, and passed away there.
According to the meet results, Chaunce was third in the M70 shot and discus that day.
Anyone know Mr. Cook who can tell us about his love of track?
6 Responses
His love of track is evidenced by the family’s desire to have tributes sent to the Senior Games Association in his name. And, the training involved to remain competitive in the throws at the age of 70+ can only be explained by love.
I knew Chaunce, but not well. He was a regular fixture at Central Texas meets. I was at the meet where he was injured but I had left before the accident. It was only mid-May but that was the 3rd meet this year I had seen him at. The guy just loved to throw. He was a very big man, with a big love of Track & Field.
This is scary. Since so many of us spend time at meets, can you indicate how this happened? How can we ensure people are safe at meets with throwers? I’ve heard of javelin accidents but never this.
I don’t know any of the details but there are two cardinal rules for safety in implement throwing – one for the thrower and the other for bystanders and officials marking, etc. The thrower should alwayso make sure there is no in the area where his implement is likely to land other than the marking officials and that those offcials are paying attention and not daydreaming. Those out past the ring, throwing line etc. (marking officials, athletes retrieving implements during warm-up, etc)need to make sure they do not turn their back to the ring or thorwing line and that they remain alert at all times. At a meet in Baton Rouge this Saturday, we had a near miss, when a veteran 50 year-old thrower shanked the discus into the side of the protective cage and it bounced back (still 8-10 feet off the ground) toward him and came close to hitting him in the head. The rule in throwing has got to be always err on the side of caution.
At these smaller meetings there are more competitors and officials with limited experience. The rules are not being followed as tightly as in larger meetings. The age factor might also kick in. While a high jumper might be able to stop his run up, if somebody crosses his path, a flying discuss cannot be stopped.
A friend who was there at the time told me that the throw that struck Chaunce was a sector foul down the left side. I don’t know how far out of the sector the throw was, or how far it had travelled. I do know that the cage around the ring was one that was installed before the sector was reduced for high school competitions. This means that the “safe” area was well outside of the sector lines. They make retro-fit kits to adapt cages to the new sector dimensions, but they were not in place at this venue.
This was a USATF sanctioned meet with certified officials, who gave a lengthy safety speech before the competition, and who backed it up with enforcement during warm-ups and the throws. The accident happened during the Junior Olympics competitions, which took place after the open and masters competitions. Like I said, I didn’t witness the accident, so I don’t know exactly what broke down.
I can also attest that the ring surface was new, and was extremely slick to the point that one thrower chose not to compete, and another threw once and took no more throws. Whether this contributed to an unusally wild foul crossed my mind when I heard about the accident.
I hope the high school kid who made the throw doesn’t take this too hard.
A couple of years ago, at the USATF National Championships (Open and Junior Division), a good friend of mine and of the sport, USATF Official Paul Suzuki was killed–hit in the head while working the Shot Put. Paul officiated at many of the meets I hosted (including working as our starter) and was tireless in his energy and voluntarism.
Since then, there has been a lot of finger pointing and lawsuits. Because of the lawsuits I will say the following remarks are my opinion based on my observations and not those of USATF, USATF Officials or any other party to the lawsuit.
All of our training as USATF Officials has centered around throwing safety. Everybody is on edge. The dangers of thowing heavy (or sharp) projectiles with great force has been emphasized to us over and over again. This may not be the case in all Associations, but we are sensitive here. We are now under strict orders not to manage an event with less than 3 certified officials (we assume, the ones who have gone through this new, extensive training). We keep the number of people exposed to the absolute minimum. We watch everyone’s back. We check the safety condition of the cage carefully. And we are flagging our sectors on much wider angles to try to keep people from ignorantly wandering into harms way. Anybody in harms way should be not only attentive, but physically capable of getting out of the way. We are to have helpers retrieve the implements so throwers have no business in the sector and very limited exposure near it. Still, we have had dangerous situations.
It is imparative that everybody around a throwing event needs to CONSTANTLY be aware of where they are relative to the ring. If you are ever anywhere that you can be hit, you should be watching the ring to know when something is coming your direction. Inside the sector or outside of it doesn’t matter. Even behind the cage doesn’t always matter. While we try to be vigilant, cages have holes. A 16lb hammer can tear through a cage that has been out in the weather a couple of years–you never know. And even if the cage works, it can give a lot more than you think, so stand waaaay back.
As I have heard accounts of Paul’s accident, he was distracted by fixing the (unfamiliar) shot put return device. He was obviously closer than the capability of the thrower, who continued in the ring. The poor kid who threw the thing must be devastated too. The point being, it is easy to get distracted–I would say particularly by the unfamiliar.
I’ll relate my personal situation; as a TV Cameraman I am usually trying to get a clear shot of whatever I am shooting, so I drift where there is nobody in the way. I’m focused on what is going on over here, not over there. More than once, I have drifted into the edge a live sector. And I’m an experienced Track and Field athlete, meet director and an official who has gone through the extensive training I described above! I’ve even lost a friend! It is too easy to let your guard down.
The majority of masters throwers practice alone, safety when walking out to pick up your implement is not on your mind when there is nobody else in the ring. But at a meet, what is going on in the ring has to be, constantly.
Simply put. Be careful out there.
Leave a Reply