PoleVaultPower.com

Hi All,

Figured I would let you know about the crazy project I was "forced" into doing. Forced yes, but ultimately making the "dream" a reality. Quick background:

Back in August, 2012 my club (Mansfield Athletics Pole Vault Club) was forced to move out of our indoor space (this was also my club's home base where I stored EVERYTHING) at The Edge in Williston, VT due to space the facility needed back. I have nothing but great things to say about The Edge and the space they provided for us the past 1 1/2 years. This just forced my dream of a home facility to become reality. While I was not entirely prepared to make a home facilty happen this fast, it is with the great support of my wife Jen. I've been working my butt off non stop to get this baby up and running. This will be one of the BEST outdoor home facilities in the world. It will have a 110' wooden runway (expandable onto the sidewalk and street if neccessary for a comp), a UCS 1900 pit and UCS Futura Standards. Highbar to come later. Hot Tub is VIP access only and of course my coaching spot on colder days .

This project started on August 12, 2012 and 3+ months later I'm still working. Damn the day job getting in the way : ). I'm fighting the Vermont winter right now and praying for the "big" snow to hold off. Whats' the big deal? I didn't roll out some old rubber on the grass, throw down some pallets and call it a day. I went to the extreme to install my world class wooden runway in the ground within the 0.1% downhill grade allowance. Yeah, it's more precise than most top-end schools, much less "true" track facilities. That installation alone took me months. Ground was much more un-level than I originally thought. It always happens that way : ). I became the "human backhoe". I then planned out a 25'x32' deck for the pit. That's 800 square feet just for the pit. Ha. I have an extra 5 feet in the back so it's easier to take the weather cover off and keep it on the deck. All of this on my barely 1/3 acre property in a typical development. Yes, I got my permit. Anyway, here's all my progress pics starting from day 1 on our club facebook page if you're curious:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 5af7c548c9

On a side note, I may have single-handedly killed USATF insurance coverage for home-based facilities. Very ironic for a number of reasons, one being my setup will be one of the safest in the world. I was staying ahead of the game getting USATF all of the info they needed for a home-based facility and their quick response before ever seeing my info, pics, etc. was that they were going to stop covering ALL home-based facilities in 2013 even if you are already covered. I'm working through this still. I'm even trying to distinguish if I'm a "true" home-based facility since I host club practices at other places in the winter. Anyway, just a heads up. I'm pretty frustrated about that since I was covered in my other space and hosted events with the same equipment.

I made a webpage for my home setup project photos so you don't need to have a Facebook account to check them out:

THE DREAM IS BECOMING REALITY!

http://www.mansfieldathletics.com/pole_ ... mplex.html

Here are the latest shots:






View from a 104' approach run. I'll have a 110' runway after I add an additional 6' runway section that would abut the sidewalk. If I had a comp where more runway was needed, I could build some custom sections that extend over the sidewalk and into the street for a max around 130' or more

Yes there is plenty of clearance for lefties. I checked it myself with a 15' pole. You can't have one of those ridiculous pole carries with the pole angled way across the body, but it's fine for the "natural" pole carry with the pole angled slightly across the body. There's actually alot more clearance than what the photo above seems to indicate.



I got a custom UCS weather cover that "bridges" the gap between the front buns and extensions to keep the plant box dry and so no water gets in the front buns or extensions. The "normal" weather cover that follows the shape of the pit around the plant box doesn't stop rain from getting into the front buns or extensions. As you can see from the photo above, I need a support structure for the weather cover in the gap region. VaultPurple's "mat plug" (shown below) is exactly what I need. My guess is it would cost over $1,000.00 for it, so I'll have to wait on that. Getting a quote from UCS on it now. So for now, I'm just gonna build the same "mat plug" (matching the contour of the gap exactly) out of wood. I'll make it in 3 separate sections to keep the weight down so I can move it in and out easier when the pit is in use. I'll post pics of it when it's complete.

Coach,

What will you do when it snows? You better have some steelie kids!

At least down here (ATL, GA), we have a bit of warm weather (40 - 50 degrees...) during the winter months. Good luck to you!

Cheers,

PV-ATL

Ha. I've been asked that by a few people. The UCS weather cover is very heavy duty and does a pretty good job spreading out the load of rain and snow. I will be brooming off snow throughout the winter though regardless. That's all that's needed. I'm also building a 4'x4'x20" high "pyramid" structure out of wood to help shed rain and wet snow off the center of the pit where most people land. Fortunately my UCS pit is still very structurely sound so even when I had some rain and wet snow the past couple of weeks, it didn't really "pool" in that center area. Pryramid structure will insure it stays sound.

The "boxes" I built to support the weather cover between the front pit sections have worked very well.

The small 1/8" gaps I left between the 2x6 decking insure great drainage while not allowing any critters to get through from under the deck.

We'll see how it all works out.

Vermont winter. Beautiful, but limits outdoor training pretty bad. Wooden "plug" I made supports the cover well between the front mats. Wooden "Water Shed Pyramid" I made, works awesome too. "Water Shed" is only 12" high and doesn't stretch the weather cover like it appears in the first pic. 2nd pic shows the "water shed" better.

A+ build!

Thanks! Not digging the runway out all winter like that. I just wanted to do it once for a cool pic : ). Plus my golden retriever was using the cleared runway for his bathroom. Had to recover the runway with lots of snow to protect it from my dog. Ha.