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It has come to our attention that what amounts to "Club advertising" is appearing on pole vault poles. The following ruling has been made concerning such markings:

Addition/altering (in excess) of the original manufacturer of Pole. See NFHS 2012 Rule Book page 56. Rule 7-5-4 note: "Altering the pole in any fashion renders it illegal." If individuals or groups want to add identifcation markings to pole vault poles, the additional information is limited to a label 2 inches x 1 inch with indication of either ownership &/or user. The label may be placed a maximum distance of 18 inches from the plant end of the pole.

Please inform you track and field coaches of this ruling. Poles marked otherwise may not be allowed at NJSIAA venues.

The above quote was from the NJSIAA the governing body that runs state high school tournaments in New Jersey.

I want to know what everyone thinks of this. First off I believe that New Jersey is misinterpreting the rule that they are using to ban stickers on poles. I also think by interpreting the rule in this way athletic tape could the also be viewed as altering the pole as well. Now I do understand that they view the stickers as advertising, but how else am I to protect my property? The stickers help me keep track of my equipment and make it difficult for others to steal my poles. In fact I have had people call me because they have found my poles at a meet when an athlete has left them behind. If not for the stickers those poles would have never gotten back to me.

Look I understand if they don't want people to have signs up at a meet or if they don't want people handing out brochures, but how can they mandate what I put on my property? Also I don't think a 2" X 1" sticker will be visible on a pole.

Anybody's thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like someone has a "bug in his or her bonnet". I think to have "Joe's Jumpers" labeled on the pole is kind of an advertising, but so would several athletes wearing warm up jackets with "Joe's Jumpers" plastered on the back. Maybe the "rules people" should leave this alone. OK my .02

Dan

I agree with Dan on this one. Who ticked off the wrong person? The clubs that have logos on their poles as a way to label them (either as advertising or a property marker) are making this sport safer through instruction and ALLOWING THE USE of poles. In my view, the rule is a way to push clubs out of the sport. Now when you go to a meet in NJ you won't see Apex or Vertical Assault labels, but you will see a lot of kids on the wrong poles making lower bars or putting themselves in at-risk situations.

Thanks for the input guys, If I could get a few more responses it would be greatly appreciated, I intend to send the link to Don Danser the head of Track and Field in New Jersey so he could see what the pole vault community thinks.

What is the point of trying to keep people from advertising in the first place? Who cares if pole vaulters or track and field athletes become walking billboards?

Advertisements = Money = More Interest = More Athletes = Better Athletes

I am yet to figure out why so many big wigs in track and field hate the idea of money. Who came up with the idea that poor, injured, starving athletes perform better?

The way the rule is written, it looks like they banned putting lines for grip height. Also,one would not be able to label a series of poles with numbers or letters so that the athletes and coaches could keep track of pole progressions.

These are colossal safety problems, especially on the high school level.

"altering the pole in any fashion"

I think they are taking this too litterally! I'm pretty sure this rule was written to keep coaches and athletes from chopping poles to change the flex or putting their own weight labels on them. As long as it has the correct weight label, who cares what else is on there? Sounds like some disgruntled coaches complained. I could see how a coach would be upset if his kids did not have access to the same poles. I'm guessing that this is the base of the problem.

In my opinion, this event is much better off with all of the clubs popping up across the country. Granted, there are some great high school vault coaches that don't coach club kids, but in general, kids are getting better instruction which can only lead to more success and much safer jumps.

Having a good line of poles is crucial to the success of a vaulter. Having a good line of poles is crucial to the safety of a vaulter. Your governing body should appreciate clubs providing those poles at meets. The club labels on the poles don't alter the jump and it's really none of their business.

What a shortsighted decision. The manufacturer's label on the pole is advertising, but that's OK?

Clubs need to be able to easily identify all of their poles or they will stop loaning them out. Each club likely has invested at least tens of thousands of dollars in pole vaulting poles. Allowing high school vaulters to use these poles helps meet a need that underfunded schools are unable to meet. This makes the event SAFER and is good for the sport. These labels are not about trying to drum up business for their club, they are about protecting a very expensive investment.

If clubs in NJ no longer allow high school athletes to use their poles, you will see the following happen:
- Less participation in high school pole vault in NJ
- Less success for HS pole vaulters in NJ due to not having the equipment needed to succeed
- Athletes may choose to forgo prep competition and focus on club competition only
- Athletes who choose to vault in prep competitions will jeopardize their safety by not having the right equipment available

The, apparently endless supply of stupid bureaucrats will never cease to amaze me. It would surve us all well if they were all just taken out to the woods and shot.

Email sent:

Hi Don, my name is Becca Gillespy Peter and I am the founder of PoleVaultPower.com, the nation's leading pole vault website. I am also a high school pole vault coach in Washington state and have been involved with several different pole vaulting clubs over the years.

I am concerned about New Jersey's adoption of a rule limiting the identification that schools/clubs/individuals may place on their pole vaulting poles.

I understand the desire to not let advertising in high school sports get out of hand. At most levels of the sport, there are restrictions in place regarding advertising on various aspects of uniforms and stadiums.

However, at NO other level of track and field are their restrictions on placing identifying markings on track and field equipment. No other high school governing body has perceived this as a problem and created any restrictions, and I assure you that club pole vaulting is stronger in several other states than it is in New Jersey.

New Jersey is the only state interpreting NFHS Rule 7-5-4 in this way. The rule is intended to prevent coaches from altering the length of the pole or placing a fake weight label on it.

These identifying labels are being misinterpreted. Clubs are not placing them on their poles in order to try and drum up more business for the club. They are placing them on the poles to try and protect a very expensive investment they have made. These labels contain contact information in hopes that they will be returned if misplaced. Poles cost $300-$600 each. Most pole vaulting clubs have invested tens of thousands of dollars (or more!) into pole vaulting poles. Without any extra accoutrements, pole vaulting poles tend to all look the same, especially to your average clueless high school kid. It is very common for kids to accidentally take a pole vaulting pole that belongs to another school. Having a prominent sticker on the pole is a good way to reduce the chance of this happening.

The fact that clubs allow kids to borrow their equipment for prep competition is a good thing that makes the sport safer and more successful in your state. All around the country, high schools are severely underfunded, and sports tend to be the first place they cut. A single pole vaulter may require dozens of different poles throughout their career in order to not only progress, but to vault safely. Poles vary widely in their stiffness and length, and small variations in this make the difference between an athlete landing safely in the middle of the pit, or landing in an unsafe location. Pole vaulting clubs are helping meet a need that high schools are often unable to.

It is a hardship for any club or high school that has used stickers to have to now remove them. Some clubs have well over 100 poles, and these stickers can be very hard to remove. The size of sticker that you are now allowing is tiny, easily overlooked, and so small that it will likely fall off the cylindrical pole. Large stickers are used because they stick to the pole better. Most clubs in your area serve athletes in multiple states, and no other state has a restriction on this. I imagine that many club coaches will simply no longer allow New Jersey athletes to use their equipment in prep competition anymore.

If clubs in NJ no longer allow high school athletes to use their poles, you will see the following happen:
- Less participation in high school pole vault in NJ
- Less success for HS pole vaulters in NJ due to not having the equipment needed to succeed
- Athletes may choose to forgo prep competition and focus on club competition only
- Athletes who choose to vault in prep competitions will jeopardize their safety by not having the right equipment available

I would like to encourage the NJSIAA to reconsider their position on this matter. You are grossly misinterpreting rule 7-5-4. This affects both the safety and success of the pole vaulters in your state.

Thank you,
Becca Gillespy Peter
Pole Vault Power
http://www.polevaultpower.com/

sad what if a bottling company wanted to put a monster logo on the pole and donate $25,000 to National federation of High schools?

This is sad; the rule was made to keep people from really altering poles and cutting them down. If the state I coach in had this, I wouldn't be able to coach! The coach we rented poles from uses a sharpie to write his initials to keep people from losing his poles. As a high school student, I marked where my handhold was on my tape. By this, it's "personalization". I also took packing tape and re-did the wrapping because the other had gotten scratched up. Had this not been allowed, my pole may have gotten scrapped up quite as much.

If someone misinterprets their rule to not allow tape at the bottom, some poles may become damaged from hitting the back of the box.This is an important rule to fix! The original rule makes the poles safer; this rule makes it unsafe for vaulters!