ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 3, 1996 TAG: 9609040027
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TIM BLANGGER THE ALLENTOWN MORNING CALL
Anyone can throw a boomerang. Getting the boomerang to return to the thrower - the ultimate goal most of the time - is another story.
Longtime thrower Peter Ruhf offers a few tips for beginners. First, it is important to face the wind. Ruhf tosses a handful of grass or leaves into the air to determine wind direction.
Once you know the wind's direction, try to imagine that you are standing in the center of a large clock with the wind coming at you from the 12 o'clock position. Right-handed throwers should aim toward the 2 o'clock mark for light to medium winds, and the 3 o'clock position for heavier winds.
Left-handed throwers should aim toward the 10 o'clock position for light winds, and the 9 o'clock position for heavier winds.
It's also important to keep the boomerang vertical. Don't throw it flat as you would a Frisbee, for example. And, to increase the spin of the boomerang, flick your wrist as you release it, in the same way you might throw a baseball.
``You've got to be able to read the winds, like a sailor would,'' said Ruhf.
There are also places to get more information on boomerang throwing, including dozens of sites on the Internet.
The United States Boomerang Association has offices at P.O. Box 182, Delaware, Ohio, 43015. The association's secretary, Gregg Snouffer, can be reached via e-mail at 75574.2346xc2compuserve.com.
The association publishes a newsletter, ``Many Happy Returns,'' which includes news about the sport, designs of new boomerangs and news of events and competitions.
The group also maintains a World Wide Web page at
http://www.staff.uiuc.edu
/brazelto/USBAinfo.html that includes a list of frequently asked questions and information on where to buy boomerangs, which range from $5 for beginnner boomerangs to $70 for custom boomerangs.
There is a collection of commercial and non-commercial boomerang sites at
http://www.staff.uiuc.edu
/brazelto/www-
boomerang-pages.html
Boomerang craftsman Dave J. Hendricks maintains a World Wide Web boomerang page at
http://www.enter.net
/bvdrangs/booms.html, where people can view color photographs of his boomerangs. You can't order through the Web page, however. To do so, you have to write Dave J. Hendricks at 1086 E. Gordon St., Allentown, Pa., 18103-2208. To receive information on Hendricks's DVD'Rangs, write to him at the same address.
The Usenet newsgroup alt.boomerang also is a good resource, although longtime boomerang enthusiasts say they have stopped reading the newsgroup because of all the off-topic messages, which is a common problem with many of the approximately 20,000 Usenet newsgroups.
Many dedicated, computer-literate boomerang enthusiasts now subscribe to a free e-mail list called the RangList. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to majordomojcn.com with the following text in the message body: subscribe rang-list and put the word ``end'' on a separate line below the first text line. In a few minutes, you should receive a confirmation of your subscription, plus some information on how to post messages to other members of the list and how to unsubscribe.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Barnaby Ruhe displays a throwing stick which, unlikeby CNBa boomerang, is designed not to return but to hit targets. color.