PoleVaultPower.com

I am an occasional contributor to a general track & field forum devoted to HS T&F in my state. Like perhaps most states, the PV is typically one of those odd events that none of the coaches really understands, either from a technical or a safety perspective.

I would like to make a post on that forum the reminds the coaches of the issue of PV safety, and points out the essentials and "good practices". At the same time, it can't be a length dissertation that exhautively covers all the topics, since I don't want to overwhelm them. My goal is to put in their mind a short list of the essentials.

Below I copied a preliminary version, and would like to get advice, and incorporate suggested changes, from the experts here before I actually post it.

As I am merely a parent who knows the rules (enough that I am called upon to help officiate at their home meets) but does not have many years of exposure to the sport, what I've written so far reflects my limited experience, and items I've listed represent the weaknesses I personally have commonly observed at meets. But please feel free to criticize, modify, suggest, etc. (e.g., am I emphasizing something that’s not really important? Am I overlooking something that is more important? Etc.)

Thanks

------------
Title of post: "Pole Vault safety: rules and good practices."

The pole vault can be a risky event, although the risk needn’t be great. The majority of severe injuries in the PV have been associated with a failure of the student’s coach, or a meet host, to follow the NFHS rules related to safety at the student’s practice facility or at the meet venue.

What follows is just a brief synopsis of the key rules and “good PV safety practices” that coach and participants should adhere to. Note that these are not just for meets; they also should be adhered to in practices as well (where vaulters spend most of their time in the event, and where most injuries usually occur.)

Rules:
- The base of the standards, and the area where they sit, must be covered with at least 2 inches of padding. (2 inches is not much: PLEASE USE MORE!)
- Any hard surfaces around the pit *MUST* be padded! (certainly within 6 ft of the pit, and farther is better)
- Make sure your pit meets the minimum size requirements in the rule book (they were increased in 2003)
- Vaulter cannot vault on a pole rated less than their weight.
- The lowest standard setting in HS is 15.5 inches. It cannot be less than that.

Good Safety Practices:
- Keep the area around the pits free of extraneous hazards, like hurdles, chairs/benches, pole racks, and other miscellaneous implements.
- Wooden pallets or other supports for the mats should not protrude out and be exposed. (either reposition them with a recess, or cover them with padding)
- The vaulter’s poles should never be lying flat on the ground, as they are easily nicked by the spikes of anyone who might inadvertently step on them. (Once damaged, even a small nick can result in the pole breaking during a vault sometime in the future).

Finally, a note to coaches: if you see your own athlete vaulting dangerously, (e.g., landing near the edge of the pit, or on or near the standards, stalling out and landing short, etc), please do not enter them in a competition until they show that they can consistently vault safely. And if they show dangerous technique in a meet, please remove your athlete from the competition. The rules (unfortunately) give no discretion to the official to remove an athlete that is putting themselves as risk, so the duty is on the coach to do so. No meet is ever as important as the permanent health of your athletes.

I think you've covered most of the important safety issues.

You might also mention that vaulters are most prone to missing the pit when their pole flex or their grip (or both) don't match their physical capabilities. If the pole is too stiff, they might stall out, and if it's too soft, they might fly off the back or side of the pit. Ditto with grip ... if too high, they might stall out. (The safety issue with gripping too low is minimal.) It should be stressed that it's the coach's responsibility to ensure that the proper pole is selected, and the proper grip is used.

You might also mention the purpose of the PLZ, and its importance to the vaulter and his coach in judging the danger of each vault.

Divalent wrote: ... The vaulter’s poles should never be lying flat on the ground, as they are easily nicked by the spikes of anyone who might inadvertently step on them. (Once damaged, even a small nick can result in the pole breaking during a vault sometime in the future). ...

I don't really consider breaking a pole mid-flight is all that dangerous. I did cut my hand open on the jagged edge of a pole piece (as I landed) once, but on all of my pole breaks including that one (about 20), I landed safely in the pit. Relative to the SERIOUS injuries that can occur due to the other things you mentioned, protecting poles from getting damaged is more of a cost issue than a safety issue IMO.

Kirk

KirkB wrote:You might also mention that vaulters are most prone to missing the pit when their pole flex or their grip (or both) don't match their physical capabilities. If the pole is too stiff, they might stall out, and if it's too soft, they might fly off the back or side of the pit. Ditto with grip ... if too high, they might stall out. (The safety issue with gripping too low is minimal.) It should be stressed that it's the coach's responsibility to ensure that the proper pole is selected, and the proper grip is used. You might also mention the purpose of the PLZ, and its importance to the vaulter and his coach in judging the danger of each vault.

Ah, well, I hesitate to bring in this kind of stuff for two reasons. The first is that I'm not comfortable myself in actually describing it. I mean, I do understand the theory, but I'm not a coach, and to put it into practice, to know what is the right pole and right grip, is beyond my ability to discern (unless I can see them stalling out or flying off the back of the pit), let alone me describing this to another. Which segues to the second reason, which is if you view my post as directed to people who don't know a lot about the pole vault, I doubt anything I could write (in one or two sentences) is gonna be something that will stick with them. I think I'm targeting the head coaches and the meet directors that really know very little about coaching the event, but do recognize their responsiblity for the safety of their athletes, and I'm pointing out the things that even someone clueless about the event can understand and easily act on. (Maybe I'm aiming to low here.)

KirkB wrote:(regarding my comments about pole care) I don't really consider breaking a pole mid-flight is all that dangerous. I did cut my hand open on the jagged edge of a pole piece (as I landed) once, but on all of my pole breaks including that one (about 20), I landed safely in the pit. Relative to the SERIOUS injuries that can occur due to the other things you mentioned, protecting poles from getting damaged is more of a cost issue than a safety issue IMO.

You probably are right, but perhaps this relates to my limited experience observing the event, as one of the two serious injuries I observed occurred in a meet where a kid was using a borrowed pole, because on his prior jump he broke his own. (he landed lying flat, back down, right in the box.) I can't get it out of my head the fact that if his pole didn't break, he would not have gotten injured. (I think the rules should allow a vaulter one practice run if he has to change poles due to a break. I witnessed two other pole breaks, and each time their next jump was poor.)

Anyway thanks for the feedback. (if you want to take a stab at a one or two sentence blurb on poles and grip heights and PLZ, I'd appreciate it.)

The question that I have is your safety publication something that you will hand out at a meet or is it something you'd like to get in the hands of the schools and coaches that you will be competing against before hand? If it's the first, you've pretty much covered all you can in a short period of time and attention span that you will get at a meet. As someone who is officiating a meet I would see no problem handing something like this out to the coaches as a "something I expect if I'm running this event" type of deal. Sort of like an umpire going over the ground rules with two baseball managers. On the other hand, If it's the second of the two options then the best thing you can do is direct the coaches to Jan Johnson's National Pole Vault Safety Certification on line course. The link is http://www.pvscb.com/ . The course takes about an hour and a half and it costs about $25. It is the minimum that I would like to see a new to the event coach or a coach who "vaulted back in the old days" have. There are also USATF coaching certification classes held around the country that are longer and more in depth that run about $150 per level and usually go over a weekend. So your idea is a good one. The question still is where are planning to "plug it in". Later....................Mike