World Athletics is planning to trial replacing the take-off board with a take-off zone at lower-level competitions this season

The long jump is one of the oldest track and field disciplines and was the only known jumping event to be part of  ancient Greeces original Olympics pentathlon.

Then, athletes used halteres the equivalent of modern-day dumbbells to propel themselves forward into a temporary dug up area that would, in theory soften the landing.

Each of the five disciplines in the ancient pentathlon long jump, discus, javelin, stadion (180m sprint) and wrestling acted as a form of training for warfare.

Unsurprisingly, the long jump mirrored the crossing of obstacles such as streams and ravines.

The long jump was one of the inaugural events at the 1896 Olympics and in 1948 women competed in it for the first time at the Games.

The standing long jump, where athletes didnt run up and instead stood at the edge of the sandpit, was also an Olympic event between 1900-1912.

For generations, athletes have refined their craft on a traditional 40m long track runway which includes a run-up area, take-off board of 20cm in length and sandpit.

The rules are pretty simple. The distance recorded is from the take-off board to the mark in the sand where the athlete initially lands. The person with the furthest jump wins.

If an athlete takes off with any part of their foot on or past the foul line then the jump is declared void and no distance is recorded.

The foul line used to be made of plasticine, meaning an indentation equalled a no jump. This has now been replaced by laser sensors at elite level competitions.

Now, the long jump format all might be about to change.

World Athletics are planning a new trial for measuring long jump take-offs where theyll replace the take-off board with a take-off zone.

This is after data from the World Championships in Budapest highlighted a third of attempts were no-jumps.

To mitigate that, jumps would be measured from the front of the athletes take-off foot within a zone and not behind a board.

It will mean that every jump counts and it adds to the jeopardy and drama in the competition, World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon told the Anything But Footy podcast.

Well measure from where the athlete takes off to where they land in the pit. You cannot make change in a sport that was basically invented 150 years ago without some controversy.

If you have dedicated your life to hitting that take-off board perfectly and then suddenly we replace it with a take-off zone, I totally get that there might be initial resistance.

We will spend this year testing it in real life circumstances with very good athletes. If it doesnt pass testing, we will never introduce it. We are not going to introduce things on a whim.

Athletes past and present have not shied away from voicing their opinions on the prospective changes to the long jump.

World long jump champion Ivana Španović posted on Instagram: W*F? Make it make sense, please.

Meanwhile, 2016 world indoor long champion Marquis Dendy also stated: Is this real?

Over on Twitter, quadruple Olympic long jump champion Carl Lewis tweeted: Actually, it wouldnt change the distances that much. You would just see more bad jumps measured.

World Athletics are also planning to create a special made for television global three-night event in 2026, when there are no Olympics or World Championships.

If the long jump trials are successful, then a take-off zone could be rolled out in elite competitions from 2026 onwards. In theory, it could be used for World Athletics new global event and further ahead the LA 2028 Olympics.

The landscape of the sport could look quite different in a few years.