The triple jump as run at a national school sports meet: a measured field event in which an athlete links a hop, a step and a jump into one continuous effort, entered separately for junior and senior boys and girls.
The triple jump is a field event built on rhythm. The athlete sprints down the runway, takes off from a board and performs three connected bounds without stopping: a hop, landing on the same foot that took off; a step, landing on the other foot; and a final jump into a sand pit, landing on both feet. The distance from the front edge of the take-off board to the nearest mark made in the sand is the result.
At this national school meet the event is entered as four separate competitions: Junior (under 17) and Senior (under 19), boys and girls apart. Each athlete is given a set number of attempts, and only the best legal attempt counts toward rank. A jump is a foul if the athlete treads beyond the take-off board, if the sequence of hop, step and jump is broken, or if the athlete leaves the pit in a way that places a mark behind the landing.
An entry on the day is a student with a chest number, a place in the jumping order and a reporting time at the runway. Officials measure each legal jump with a tape, and the coordinator records the distance in metres against the entry. Because the sand pit and runway are shared with the long jump on many grounds, the two are normally scheduled at different times.
Organisers include the triple jump because it asks for more than speed or spring alone. It rewards the athlete who can keep momentum through three phases, which makes it a useful event for a school meet that wants its field programme to reach beyond the sprinters. In this template a Gold finish carries 5 bonus points, Silver 3 and Bronze 1.
Where Triple Jump comes from
The triple jump has been part of the Olympic programme since the first modern Games in 1896 for men, while the women's event joined the Olympic programme at the 1996 Games.
Where Triple Jump is run
In eTalenter the item is carried by the national school sports and games template for Indian school-board affiliates, which lists 44 items across athletics, swimming, skating and team and individual sports. Beyond that, the triple jump is a standard field event at school, club, district and national athletics meets worldwide.
- India (national school sports meet for board-affiliated schools)
- Worldwide as a standard athletics field event
Key facts
- Individual event, no team entry
- Four separate fields: Junior (U-17) boys, Junior girls, Senior (U-19) boys, Senior girls
- Three linked phases: hop, step, jump, in that order
- Result is a measured distance in metres, scored on the Distance (Meters) label, not a judged mark
- Only the best legal attempt counts; treading past the take-off board is a foul
- The template carries a placeholder 10-minute limit and 9-minute warning; a coordinator should replace these with a real jumping schedule
On eTalenter, Triple Jump is filed under Athletics and typically scored with Distance (Meters). It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Triple Jump is most often entered as an Individual competition, commonly run for Female, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.
How it is scored
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means.
- Best score is
- the highest
- Decimal places
- 2
- Unit
- meters / centimeters
- Used for
- Sports
Where it sits
The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed.
Others in this category: 50m, 100m, 200m, Relay, Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Put, Javelin, Discus, Road Walking, Marathon
Judging criteria installed for it
eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed.
No criteria match this name, so none are created automatically — judges score it on the event’s own criteria instead.
What judges look at in Triple Jump
What a Triple Jump panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Distance: the only thing that decides rank is the longest legal measured jump, so every centimetre lost in any phase is lost from the result
- Take-off accuracy: stepping beyond the board is a foul and records nothing, so an athlete needs a run-up that lands the take-off foot just behind the board without looking down
- Phase balance: a hop that is too long leaves too little in the step and jump, so officials and coaches look for three phases that carry momentum evenly
- Continuity: the athlete must keep moving through the hop, step and jump without a pause or a stumble, because lost speed shows up directly in the measurement
- Landing: the mark nearest the take-off board is the one measured, so an athlete who sits back or falls backwards on landing loses distance even after a strong jump
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Triple Jump under Scoring Setup, or start from how judging, scoring and tabulation work on eTalenter.
How to prepare for Triple Jump
How entrants and their teachers usually get Triple Jump right on the day:
- Start with the rhythm on a flat surface: practise hop, step, jump over short distances before adding a run-up, counting the beat aloud until it is automatic
- Measure and mark the run-up with tape, then fix the starting point only after the take-off foot is landing just behind the board in several jumps in a row
- Build leg strength with single-leg hops, bounding and skipping, since the landing of the hop and step puts far more load on one leg than a long jump does
- Train the proportions of the three phases with markers in the sand, so the athlete learns where the hop and the step should land rather than guessing
- Use a properly dug and levelled pit, and warm up thoroughly before bounding, because the repeated single-leg landings are hard on ankles and knees
- On the day, walk the runway, find the take-off board and warm up on a short run before the first attempt, and use the first attempt to bank a safe legal distance
Events that run this (1)
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Triple Jump judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Individual entry, commonly for Female, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is the triple jump judged by a panel?
No. The result is the longest legal distance, measured with a tape. On eTalenter the coordinator records that distance against the entry and rank follows from the longest to the shortest.
What are the three parts of the triple jump?
The hop lands on the same foot that took off, the step lands on the opposite foot, and the jump finishes in the sand on both feet. All three must follow one another without a pause.
What counts as a foul in the triple jump?
The usual fouls are treading beyond the take-off board and breaking the hop, step and jump sequence. A foul records no distance. A coordinator should confirm the exact rule the meet uses before the first jump.
Is the triple jump the same as the long jump?
No. The long jump is a single take-off and a single flight into the pit, while the triple jump links three bounds. They are two separate items in this template, though they often share a pit.
Do boys and girls jump together?
No. In this template boys and girls are separate entries within both the Junior and Senior categories, giving four competitions in total.
Similar competitions
Items whose names share a word with this one — usually the same discipline in another form.
Want the full judging picture? Read how judging, scoring and tabulation work on eTalenter, or browse every athletics competition item.
Try Triple Jump in eTalenter
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