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IN HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION
1)Is there any official ruling that a high school vaulter can NOT land on his/her feet first onto the pads or land with their feet first and then bounce back onto their backs?
2) Can an official tell a vaulter that he/she HAS to "jump" at take off? Example: If a vaulters is way under, gets cloths lined off the ground, doesn't appear to "jump" off the ground and THEN has a low bend on the pole, can an official then tell the vaulter he/she must "JUMP" at take off or there will be a penalty of some kind?

scootz42 wrote:IN HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION
1)Is there any official ruling that a high school vaulter can NOT land on his/her feet first onto the pads or land with their feet first and then bounce back onto their backs?
2) Can an official tell a vaulter that he/she HAS to "jump" at take off? Example: If a vaulters is way under, gets cloths lined off the ground, doesn't appear to "jump" off the ground and THEN has a low bend on the pole, can an official then tell the vaulter he/she must "JUMP" at take off or there will be a penalty of some kind?

In case # 1, there is no rule regarding landing in the pit.

In case # 2, you may not leave the ground in an attempt and come back down (without 1st clearing the bar) without being called for a foul. In the case you describe you would still be on the clock if you did not leave the ground "in an attempt". Had your feet left the ground in an attempt to stop, some officials might call this as a foul. I would not.

1. There is no rule that a vaulter cannot land on their feet.
2. An official shouldn't be coaching athletes unless the vaulter is doing something unsafe. "Jump" is not really a cue that is going to improve an unsafe vault if the vaulter is getting ripped off the ground. The vaulter more likely has a run that is far under or out or does not know how to plant.

scootz42 wrote:IN HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION
1)Is there any official ruling that a high school vaulter can NOT land on his/her feet first onto the pads or land with their feet first and then bounce back onto their backs?
2) Can an official tell a vaulter that he/she HAS to "jump" at take off? Example: If a vaulters is way under, gets cloths lined off the ground, doesn't appear to "jump" off the ground and THEN has a low bend on the pole, can an official then tell the vaulter he/she must "JUMP" at take off or there will be a penalty of some kind?

Pretty much everything you just listed is your opinion and nothing to do with rules or officiating.

Landing on your back is not always possible when jumping lower heights, and a lot of new vaulters do not have the best jumps but that does not mean an official should step in.

However if it is small meets and the athlete obviously doesn't know what they are doing and there is no coach around, it never hurts to give advice if you know what you are talking about. But that is purely friendly advice, not being an official.

This is at a State finals meet. 1st scenario was addressed to all girl vaulters not to land on their feet or bounce back on their back after landing on their feet first. The official kept warning the girl vaulters when they landed on their feet first, like there was going to be so kind of foul enforced if they did it again...kinda' got into the vaulters heads, so worried they were going to do it again.

2cd scenario was a male vaulter that kept taking off way under and the pole looked like it was bending a little more in the bottom half of the pole more than the top half. The concerned official kept saying "he's got to jump off the ground!" In a way like he was going to make him change something (pole, grip height...???) or foul him or not let him jump? I think it's fair for an official to give advice, especially if its for the intent of keeping our sport more safe. Not sure if worrying the vaulter with one more(negative) thing to think about while at a state meet with so much nervous energy to compete with already was the right call. Maybe this should've been addressed to the coach instead of the H.S vaulter.

I would file a complaint with the meet referee and/or meet director or whoever seemed to be in charge of officials. That's inappropriate in both cases and the official needs to be re-trained.

Although this may not address this topic specifically I had a situation at a meet that I was officiating that I feel in my opinion was a correct way to handle unsafe vaulting. A particular colleges' vaulters were all gripping too high for their ability and coming up short. Out of three of this school's vaulters they all over bent and came up short more times than they got into the pit. I bit my tongue throughout the competition until the second day when one of their decathletes took off, over bent the pole and stalled at the top coming down on the box. Thankfully feet first and not head first. I had had enough. I looked at the coach and said, "coach? either lower their grip, have them run faster, or get on a bigger pole. I don't care which, just get this (she knew what I was talking about) fixed. I'm not going to have an athlete land on his melon at any meet I'm officiating at". I did not address the vaulter but the coach instead. Fortunately in my case the coach complied and no further action was required nor did she file a complaint. Officials need to have the ability to insist on safe pole vaulting practices. It is up to the coach to know the rules and he does have the right to correct an official if he can point out in the book that a rule either exists or it doesn't. I found that I really appreciated the coaches input regarding college rules verses high school and USATF rules. Whereas there is no rule regarding landing on the feet in the pit I do not allow it at our club due to the possibility of a twisted or a broken ankle possibility. Interesting topic.
Later
Mike