These are my survival rules for the Heavy Athletics:
1. Don't run when you can walk.
2. Don't stand when you can sit.
3. Throw downhill whenever possible.
4. Drink one beer before the Weight Over the Bar.

Rule #1. Let the young ones do all the running around. This is how the whole thing about old age and treachery came about.

Rule #2. Always have a place to sit out on the throwing field and don't be shy about telling someone sitting in your chair to move along.

Rule #3. Always look for the advantages that are available. If there's a low spot on the field, toss or throw in that direction; if you have to throw uphill, aim HIGH. Chose the biggest caber you KNOW you can turn if the choice is yours to make. Don't toss the caber INTO the wind, toss it WITH the wind. With the sun at your back, you can tell if the caber is properly vertical. Choose the hammer that has whippy handle if the choice is yours to make. Sit out the Weight Over the Bar event until the bar has been raised to within two feet of the height you KNOW is your maximum as there is a greater likelihood of a miss if you make unnecessary tosses, and always aim for the low end of the bar.

Rule #4. WOB is one of most tiring events of the day and it's a confidence event...you have to believe you can do it. One beer before the WOB will loosen up the kinetic chain and take the edge off. Throw loose.

After a hundred or so games, you begin to figure some of these things out.