We inflated the tubes today (finally) and messed around with it for about 20 minutes. I'm only 5'5", which may make the tube-throwing method for me different, but I found that:
1) Discus throwing sucks. A "boomerang" effect kicks in since you're throwing at an angle (unless your shoulders are 6' tall, in which case I'd easily be eclipsed by you
) and the tube returns too fast. It didn't "slice" the air as well as I'd thought due to the angled release.
2) Pushing the tube works well. Just shove the tube in the horizontal orientation without putting much spin on it and it will kinda glide down.
3**) By far the best: a tall mentor of ours threw the tube over his head and it flew quite a ways. However, because I can't actually get the tube over a 6' barrier throwing it over my head forwards, I turned around (my back is now to the 6' wall/field) to get a fuller swing, giving the tube more momentum. From what I can tell, it works because
-Your arms center the tube vertically; if you are swinging your arm at the same speed and release with both hands at the same time, there is virtually no angle to the vertical, so the tube goes in the trajectory determined by the orientation of your body without turning.
Good aim, little risk of repeated out-of-bounds throws or tubes landing at opponents
-If you put spin on the tube, it'll land in an orientation (vertical) that will roll as much as 10-20' before coming to rest, depending on the tube.
Good distance covered
-The arc formed by swinging your arm over your head can be determined by the release. If an opponent robot is in the way, you can throw over it.
Good air time
Though arguably, you can't see where you're throwing, but with enough practice (and by turning your head around) you can determine where your tube is going. We were consistently hitting 20-30' air distance outdoors (error from a windy day in Seattle?) and another 10' on the ground.