Boomerangs

A boomerang is a simple wooden implement used for various purposes. It is primarily attributed to Australian Aborigines, but other forms are found amongst peoples of North East Africa, Arizona Indians and in India. more...

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It comes in many shapes and sizes depending on its geographic/tribal origins and intended function. The most recognizable type is the returning boomerang which, when thrown correctly, travels in a curved path and returns to its point of origin. Other types of boomerang are of the non-returning sort, and indeed, some are not thrown at all but are used in hand-to-hand combat by Aboriginal people. Boomerangs can be variously used as hunting weapons, percussive musical instruments, battle clubs, fire-starters, decoys for hunting waterfowl, and as recreational playthings. The smallest boomerang may be less than 10 cm from tip-to-tip, and the largest over 2 meters in length. Tribal boomerangs may be incised and/or painted with designs meaningful to its maker. Most boomerangs seen today are of the tourist or competition sort, and are almost invariably of the returning type.

History

Boomerang-like devices, including hunting sticks, have been used all over the world for hunting, religious and recreational activities. Their origin is still not fully clear. Research has shown that ancient tribes in Europe used special throwing axes. Also, in ancient Egypt a special type of stick was exclusively used by the pharaohs for hunting birds. However, the world famous "country of the boomerang" is Australia, where the Australian Aborigines have used both boomerangs and hunting sticks for thousands of years. The name of the boomerang comes from the Indigenous Australian Turuwal tribe of Aborigines who lived south of Sydney, Australia.

Today, boomerangs are most used as sporting items. There are different types of throwing contests: accuracy of return; aussie round; trick catch; maximum time aloft; fast catch; and endurance (See below). The modern sport boomerang (often referred to as a 'boom' or 'rang'), is made of Finnish birch plywood, hardwood, plastic or composite materials and comes in many different shapes and colors. Most sport boomerangs typically weigh less than 100 grams, with MTA boomerangs (boomerangs used for the maximum time aloft event) often under 25 grams.

Competitions and records

In international competition, a world cup is held every second year, with teams from Germany and the United States dominating international competition. The individual World Champion title was won in 2000, 2002 and 2004 by Swiss thrower Manuel Schütz, in 2006 Fridolin Frost from Germany has won the title, Manuel Schütz finishing third.

Events

In the U.S., most competitions are comprised of six standard events as follows:

Read more at Wikipedia.org