When members of the Wilmington College campus community think of Jake Stein’s athletic exploits, the image of him swimming freestyle and backstroke events as a swim team member quickly comes to mind — not the comparatively obscure sport of boomerang throwing.
Yet, Stein is a member of the ninth-place team in the Boomerang World Championships held earlier this month in Westminster. CO. Their relay team defeated both France and the United States’ top team.
Considered by many to be the exclusive domain of Australia, boomerang throwing has gained popularity worldwide as evidenced by Brazil winning the overall title and teams competing from around the world. Competitors came from Germany, Australia, Indonesia, France, China, Japan and Switzerland during the three-day team competition at Westminster City Park. The U.S. fielded four teams.
Stein is a junior at Wilmington College majoring in history and education studies with a minor in coaching. He spends his summers coaching young swimmers and working at a swimming pool in his hometown of Delaware, OH. Indeed, it was through swimming that he was exposed to boomerang throwing.
Pictured are Team Gel members who competed in the Boomerang World Championships in Colorado earlier this month. Jake Stein is in the middle wearing yellow shorts.
Last year, while the pool crew was having dinner at one of their homes, a guest who builds and sells boomerangs introduced the group to this most foreign of sports. He finished his introduction of boomerang throwing with a challenge: “The world championships are in Colorado in July. Let’s put a team together and do it!” The group’s reaction ran the gamut of enthusiasm and most ultimately bowed out, but an intrigued Stein wanted to give it a go but, with school and a long collegiate swimming season, he wasn’t able to seriously train until this spring.
“I found there’s a very big learning curve, so it was a big step to have only two months to train before competing in the sport of boomerang’s biggest stage,” he said, noting the World Championship was the first time the entire team — Team Gel — competed together.
As with most pieces of sports equipment, the boomerang has evolved since the original flattened throwing sticks made of wood or bone fashioned by Australian Aborigines. They were initially used for hunting and fighting, not sport, and most of these were non-returning and did not possess the allure of what became their special curved shape and ability to come back to the thrower. Today’s boomerangs are often made of plastic, carbon fiber and even phenolic paper, the latter of which is comprised of wood fiber and phenolic polymers.
“The lightness of the boomerang allows it to stay in the air a long time,” Stein said, noting that the 10-plus events are judged on various combinations of time aloft, distance, accuracy, returning and catching. Team events feature relays. He cited an event called the “Australian Round” in which competitors throw about 50 meters with the boomerang returning and the thrower catching it within a specified area.
Knowledge of wind speed and direction is an essential factor in how professionals gauge their throws. Indeed, Stein has seen boomerangs stay aloft for several minutes. “You can get lucky with the wind,” he added.
“One of my throws went all the way across the field and over a small lake; it sat over a construction site before it came back and I was able to catch it,” he said. In fact, it was a throw like that in which Stein realized he has a future in the sport. “The first day of the competition, I had difficulty catching the boomerang and felt down on myself. The second day I made those catches. I realized, ‘I can do this. I can get better. I can compete.’
“I’m excited to keep learning and see where it will take me.”
Stein said the championships featured boomerang throwers ranging from young children to senior citizens. He was especially impressed with how supportive everyone was of the competitors. “The people there were so encouraging,” he said. “Everyone in the boomerang community — even our opposition — wants you to succeed. I’ve never experienced that before in sports.”