Heptathlon Evaluation Model Using Grey System Theory

The heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. There is the women's (outdoor) and the men's (indoor) heptathlon. In this paper, the women's heptathlon rules that are the same as the men's decathlon rules will be analyzed. The heptathlon is a women's sporting event, designed to be the female counterpart for the men's decathlon. Like other combined sports events, the heptathlon tests the speed, strength, mobility and endurance of the heptathletes. The competition consists of seven events held on two consecutive days. The first day's events, in order, include the 100–meter hurdles, the high jump, the shot put and the 200–meter run. The second day's events, in order, include the long jump, the javelin throw and an 800–meter run. Points are awarded to each heptathlete according to her time or distance score, not her placement in the field, according to pre-set formulas, and the overall point score determines the winner [13, 14]. In 2006 issue of New Studies in Athletics a revision of the decathlon scoring method of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) has been proposed. An analysis of the world top 100 decathletes showed that decathletes gather far more points in sprinting – based events like 100 m, 110 m hurdles and long jump than in throwing events (shot put, javelin throw, discus) and endurance (1500 m) [14]. The women's heptathlon displays similar anomalies. An analysis of the world top 100 heptathletes showed that heptathletes gather more points in sprinting-based events than in throwing events. The current scoring method displays unacceptable bias as it favors some of the events and defers others. It lacks fairness and validity, because sprinters benefit disproportionately. Converting the measurement into points and summing up is questionable. There is no way to decide