Several COMPETITION Secrets I have learned over the years. These don't necessarily apply to recreational throwing, but these are tips that helped me stay ahead of the pack for a long, long time :-)

1. DON'T WEAR A HAT
A hat blocks the sun, yes, but it also mitis your view of the boomerang which ofetn may hover back over your head, or swing and suddenly you're blind to the boomerang. If you can't see it, you can't catch it.
The second reason I eschew hats when throwing is that the wind is the most important element of throwing accurately. I want to feel every puff and gust and shift and my hair is often the best tool I have. Even if you have no hair, your scalp is way more sensitive to the wind than any other part of your body. I want to be aware of the wind at all times. No hat for me.

2. NON-POLARIZED GLASSES
Polarized lenses are horizontally oriented. The sunlight and glare is cut off by the polarization. Turn sideways, the effect is totally lost as the glare now streams through vertically, unimpeded. With boomerang throwing you are constantly tipping your head, running to and fro and looking up and down. It is not driving....something for which polarized lenses are great....it is a dynamic and shifting race to hunt down and catch everything you throw. Sometimes the glint of the sun is all you have to make a read on a floating trick catch or MTA. Polarized lenses can distort WHERE the boomerang is. They can cause almost a "vibration" effect when tracking a moving boomerang against the sky or the trees and background.

MY PREFERENCE: Oakley® Prizm® Golf Lens, non-polarized. You have to take care not to scratch your Oakley lenses BUT the contrast and the pop and clarity are worth the effort for me.

3. GET A GRIP
Grip is everything in boomerang throwing. One slip when every throw counts can be fatal.
a- I protect my hands by never applying my own sunscreen and never shaking hands with anyone on the field! Sounds like overkill, but I don't want anything coming in touch with my ability to touch, grip and feel.
b- I carry a genuine chamois in my kit and often on my body. I started the "loin cloth" approach to carrying my chamois back in the early 80's. I tuck it in my shorts across the front so it is always accessible for my hand and booms. It was even more scary in the 80's when we wore those awesome/hideous short shorts and running silks because the chamois often covered the shorts completely!
c- I occasionally use gymnastics chalk, especially when throwing MTA's. I put the chalk on my fingers and then swing the boom in my fingers several times to get the just right feel. Definitely avoids slipping which in MTA can be an instant death spiral!
d- I also have a small bottle of dri-grip which you can find at any golf store or even Walmart in the tennis section.

That's good for now and should give you some things to think about and practice! I will post more on tuning, wind throwing and more. Stay tuned!

This information is valuable for beginners for sure, but it will have its greatest value for intermediate and advanced throwers, who for all their skill and knowledge may yet have a few things to learn!

Try these training tips next time you are out and see what happens to your performance at the next tournament. Hope they help!

1. Find the edges
By this I mean, intentionally practice throwing TOO FAR RIGHT, TOO FAR LEFT, TOO HIGH, TOO LOW, TOO HUMPBACK, etc. WHAT IS TOO FAR unless you find out? In boomerang throwing we are trying to throw bullseyes normally. We want the boomerang to come back TO US in Accuracy, Aussie, Trick Catch, Fast Catch and Endurance. Consequently we often only practice trying to get the boomerang right back and we never FIND THE EDGES in practice. What is guaranteed is that THE EDGES WILL FIND YOU in a tournament and it is way better to have prepared ahead of time!

So, when I am throwing Aussie Round for example, I usually start out throwing what I think will bring the boomerang right back to me. But then, I intentionally start throwing too far right to see what happens. Where is the EDGE? Where is TOO FAR RIGHT? Then I know. Then I go TOO FAR LEFT. What happens? Which is safer? Now, with the edges defined, I can throw down the middle and get the bullseyes. But as the wind shifts, I know where the edges are and where is too far so I can safely find the middle.

2. WHERE TO ERR?
Once you know the edges you have an idea what goes wrong when you go past them! So IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE A MISTAKE (and eventually you will because the wind will switch on you mid throw), WHERE SHOULD THAT BE?

In other words, if I am going to misread this wind, do I want to go too far into it or too far right? Would it be better to go too high or too low? Certain mistakes are deadly. Too far right and the boom can come screaming in front of you with no chance to catch it. Too far left and it might be a blow by where you are sprinting in vain. So each boom is different and you need to know what happens when THIS boom goes too far left, because that could be the perfect back door hover giving you time to recover from the mis-read or the wind shift.

I want to know with my Accuracy Booms which one will tolerate coming in the back door. Which one will blow out in that same scenario.

Full disclosure: I ALWAYS err to the right! I have this innate fear of getting blown out so throughout history, when I make a mistake I am almost invariably running forward to catch the incoming screamer. Because I can get those!

BUT as I have gotten older, I am finding that sprinting after screamers is less attractive and often less rewarding! I have had to make myself work into the wind,  to the left because often that error actually gives me a cutting back door opportunity to move early and make the catch.

What works for you might not work for Danial Bower or myself, so in practice you want to find out what works for YOU!

And then in those moments of doubt where you are not sure if this wind is shifting right or left? Was that last read correct? Did those two that just threw in front of me get a sucker wind or did they miss it altogether? In those moments, you will be able to think, "OK, where are the edges? Now where is the middle? And if I am going to miss it, do I want to miss it right or left? Than you can make your best, safest throw at the moment!

3. THROW IT!
Once you have read the wind and made a decision, THROW IT! Be confident. Be aggressive. DO NOT HOLD BACK. We get tentative and everything goes wrong. Once you decide to hit it, hit it! Often times you get that instinct that says, "right there" and you need to go with that and just throw it. If you watch me throw, you will often see me nodding my head "yes" to no one at all, right before the throw :-) At that moment, I know what I am doing and I commit to it and throw it.

Good luck practicing! See you on the field.