High School Discus Rules

Throwing a discus requires strength, agility and good form. A discus thrower must also know the sport's rules to prevent him from faulting or ruining a good throw because a rule was broken. The National Federation of High School Discus rules apply to many high school-accredited tournaments and dual meets. These rules include details regarding throwing, competitions and scoring.

  1. Thowing Parameters

    • A discus throw must be completed within a one-minute time limit. The competitor faults when he begins the throw without a pause after he enters the throwing circle. A throw is also nullified when the thrower touches the circle or circle perimeter before the discus hits the ground. The thrower commits a foul if the discus lands outside of the throwing sector, the boundaries of the discus grounds. The competitor also must leave the back half of the throwing circle following the throw.

    Competition

    • During bigger meets, field events usually have preliminaries and finals. Throwers will receive three attempts in the preliminary round and the start order of the final round will be determined by the finishing position in the preliminary round. During the finals, the competitor will usually have three to four throws during a dual meet.

    Scoring

    • Discus throwers will be judged on individual throws. Officials will take the distance of the best throws. The measurement of the discuss is from the nearest edge mark of the discus mark to the inside edge of the throwing circle. Measurements of throws will be made to the lesser inch. Ties will be broken by taking the top distance of the competitors' second-best throws.