Starting pistol

Astarting pistolorstarter pistolis ablankhandgunor, more recently, an electronictoy gunor device with a button connected to a sound system that is fired to starttrack and fieldracesas well as somecompetitive swimmingraces. Traditional starter guns cannot fire realammunitionwithout first being extensively modified:Blank shellsorcapsare used to prevent expelling projectiles,and only a small amount of smoke can be seen when shot. In most places, trying to modify the replica is illegal.

A starting pistol in use at an athletics competition in 1961.

Eight women participate in ahobble skirtrace. Starter gun has just been fired by man in straw boater hat.

Starting pistols may also include modified versions of standard pistols incapable of firingbullets,most commonly achieved by welding an obstruction into the barrel. This is less common nowadays, especially in Western countries. Whenelectronic timingis used, a sensor is often affixed to the gun, which sends an electronic signal to the timing system upon firing. Fordeafcompetitors or for modern electronic systems, the electronic toy gun sends off a light signal, with some events using a light system.

Use in races

Prince Harrystarts a track competition with a starting gun wired for timing at the2016 Invictus Games

The sound of the gun going off serves as the signal for the athletes to begin the event. An issue with the use of starting pistols is that, since the report of the pistol is carried to the competitors at thespeed of sound,which takes about 3millisecondsto travel one metre, positions nearest the starter hear the report a few milliseconds before further positions. This issue is exaggerated in races where the runners begin in a stagger, putting a significant distance between the nearest and furthest runners. To avoid this problem, the pistol is in all major competitions wired with a microphone that transmits the sound virtually instantaneously to loudspeakers directly behind each competitor.

With security after theSeptember 11 attackson the US becoming prevalent and causing issues with starting pistols,a trend developed to use electronic starting systems that do not use pistols but use a "dummy"proppistol or a signaling device similar to those used on game shows which cannot function as a firearm and that is wired to the timing system. When the starter presses the button, they emit a signal to play a simulated gunshot that is broadcast to loudspeakers behind each lane, show a flash from the gun, and start the timing clock. Many venues have switched to the new format.Beyond the security concerns, it was observed that the additional time for the sound to reach the athletes further from the pistol did have a measurable impact on starting times. This delay existed even when using a combination of a real gun and electronic system. Some competitors would still wait for the actual sound of the gun to reach them, rather than starting when the speaker behind them played the start sound. Since the new all-electronic starting pistols have no such problems, they became the official way of starting games at the2012 Summer Olympics.

Use in gridiron football

Officials inAmerican and Canadian footballformerly used a starting pistol to end each quarter of a game. In theNFLthis was first done in 1924, to avoid confusion with thewhistlesandair hornsused for other signals; at the time the stadium clock did not show the official game time, which was kept by the officials on the field. The stadium clock later became the official game time and the NFL discontinued the gunshot in 1994. Furthermore, upon the official end of the period, the referee will announce "That is the end of the (x period)" to the public address system.

Use in the arts

Beside sporting events, starter pistols are also used in films and in TV, stage shows, and to recordimpulse responses.

Criminal use

Some pistols made to fire only blanks can be converted to fire live ammunition. Such makeshift firearms are used in crime and many are illegal to possess in certain jurisdictions.

An athletic festival

See also

Incidents involving starting pistols

• 2010 Discovery, Inc. hostage crisis
• Adam Ant 2002 pub incident in Camden
• Algiers Motel incident
• David Kang
• LOT Flight 165 hijacking
• Lufthansa Flight 592