Poles and chlorine (pool vaulting drill)

[FerrisVaulter]

So this is kind of a weird question. I'm a pole vaulter at Ferris State University, and for all the pool drills we use this old 15' 165 lb. Pacer III. It's been the pole that's been used for pool vaulting for probably the past 6-ish years or so. I was just curious if the chlorine or water is bad for the pole in any way (i.e., make it more brittle), and if it's still safe to use if we found a butt plug for it. It seems in okay condition otherwise, and doesn't seem weaker at all, but I'd rather not find out at a meet if pool water is bad for it by having it explode under me.

[rainbowgirl28]

Water does not damage poles, I don't know for sure about chlorine, but for occasional usage in a pool it's not a problem. If the pool has been literally sitting in a pool for 6 years, I don't know.

But I wanted to point out that PVC Pipes work great for underwater vaulting. You're probably more likely to damage poles by banging them against the side of the pool, or transporting them to the pool, but why take the risk either way.

[vaultmd]

I wonder if UV light would be an issue if the pole were left out by the pool all the time.

[powerplant42]

There are many pools and hot tubs made out of fiberglass. As for UV light, many fiberglass products are cured with it.

I'm not saying that it's 'safe', I'm just throwing those two points out there for consideration. Test the pole before you use it (bending it against a wall or something) and then use it in practice before in a meet.

[rainbowgirl28]

I wonder if UV light would be an issue if the pole were left out by the pool all the time.

Sunlight does damage poles if they are left out in the sun for significant periods of time (months). I think it eventually eats away at the resin or something and you can get fiberglass splinters from them. It's not a problem to have them outside all day for a camp or something, but it's important not to store them in direct sunlight.