IV Velo Club

The Atlatl

The ATLATL

Our logo is a fierce cyclist using an "atlatl" to threaten the riders he is about to overtake.  He rides a bike made of co-conspirator rattlesnakes.

We've adapted this image from one used by the Imperial Valley College Desert Museum, which sits alongside Interstate 8 in Ocotillo, California. The museum will open in 2008 and will feature exhibits about early man in Imperial County and the natural history of the region.

The atlatl is a device that is used to throw a light weight spear called a dart with considerable mechanicaladvantage. Atlatls were widely used world wide before the advent of the bow and arrow.

Atlatl (pronounced like 'atlantic') is an Aztec word for spear thrower. In Australia the Aborigines call it the Woomera. The oldest known atlatl is more than 19,000 years old. It is believed that the atlatl was in use for more than 40,000 years. With the atlatl, humans gained a tremendous hunting advantage and this accelerated the extinction of many large mammals throughout the world. The power that the atlatl imparts to the spear is so great that the Aztecs started reusing atlatl technology to pierce the armor of Spanish Conquistadors in the sixteenth century.
Today, many people are rediscovering the atlatl for the recreational purposes of competition and hunting game. Competition involves the following events: long distance, accuracy, and target throwing. Some competitions are restricted to the use of primitive materials and technologies. Other competitions allow the use of modern high tech materials and construction methods.

The World Record for long distance currently stands at 848.56 feet. This throw was made by Dave Ingvall of St. Joseph, Missouri on 15 July 1995 in Aurora, Colorado. Dave used a carbon fibre atlatl with an aluminum dart of his own construction.