Sand Vault Competition in Kansas City July 26

[KCEric28]

2nd Annual "Light it Up Sand Vault" will be held July 26, 2008 at the Shawnee mission Beach Volleyball Club. Bar and Grill in the facility, great lighting for night pole vaulting, Raised Runway, new Essx pit, drawings for free stuff....including poles! USATF sanctioned


Four division will be run this year
High School/College Girls (6pm start) 8'6" opening height
High School/College Boys (to follow) 13' opening height
Elite Women (following) opening height tbd by vaulters
Elite Men (run w/ Elite women) opening height tbd by vaulters

For a highlight video from last year visit http://www.brokenpole.com

contact JJ for entry/detail
mvpvlawler@myway.com

Contestants must present a current and valid USATF membership card or printed confirmation to be eligible for competition. USATF memberships are available at http://www.usatf.org/membership

See you there!

[KCEric28]

Entry form now available online (along w/ 2007 highlight video)

www.brokenpole.com

[ashcraftpv]

you know what would be awesome? An actual sand vaulting competition. No runway, no mats, just standards, a crossbar, and sand......

[KCEric28]

If you want to come and vault in the sand....I'll see what I can do. I'd vault with you...I'm sure we could find enough people who would want a good laugh.

I't would be nice not having to worry about missing the mat.

[VaultNinja]

you know what would be awesome? An actual sand vaulting competition. No runway, no mats, just standards, a crossbar, and sand......

I've done that before, but not with standards. If someone was crazy enough to put a meet on like that, i'd compete.

But back on topic, I went to the Light it Up meet last year, and it was a lot of fun. If anyones thinking about going, I recommend it.

[rainbowgirl28]

you know what would be awesome? An actual sand vaulting competition. No runway, no mats, just standards, a crossbar, and sand......

Haha we could do that at Alki Beach

[KCEric28]

Due to the low number of Elite vaulters interested this year, we have adjusted the starting time to 6pm for the HS/College division. If there are still Elite vaulters interested, we will vault them under the lights as an exhibition following.

[KCEric28]

Hey all, we just received confirmation that April Steiner Bennett (PR is 15' 2.25) will be attending the Sand vault this weekend. Come to vault, watch, or support April in her quest for Olympic Gold in Beijing. Bennett was runner up in the Olympic trials with a jump of 15 feet 1 inch. Watch her on her trek to the Olympics
http://www.aprilsteinerbennett.com

visit www.brokenpole.com for entry forms (still taking), directions and times.

[KCEric28]

For Elite vaulters only!

We have obtained some sponsorships which will allow us to help you with your expenses for the trip to Kansas City. First come first serve. Please email mvpvlawler@myway.com or epeters@mriresearch.org if you are interested.

Thanks,
Eric

[KCEric28]

More vaulters are signing up for the sand vault.

Just added

Jordon Scott, KU Junior and olympic trials fianalist, 18'+ vaulter
Cooper Merril, KU Sophmore, Kansas HS 6A State Champion, 15'7" vaulter
Julie Cumming, KU Sophmore, Kansas HS 6A State Champion and 13'+ vaulter

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/200 ... _light_it/

Sand vaulters Light It Up

Photo by Kevin Anderson. Enlarge photo.

Leaving no doubt about his favorite hobby, KU junior Jordan Scott trimmed the outline of a pole vaulter into his hair.
By Pete Logan
July 30, 2008


They survived Mother Nature, a fuel crisis, and the Olympics, so it’s safe to say that the Light It Up sand pole-vaulting competition is here to stay.

For the second straight year, a group of local pole vault coaches and experts, led by Mill Valley High School coach J.J. Lawler, put together a loaded field of local and national talent Saturday and Sunday at the Shawnee Mission Beach Volleyball complex. Despite numerous obstacles, the organizers — who also included Shawnee Mission Northwest vault coach Eric Peters and Kansas Class 1A state record holder Darren Bryant — pulled off a successful event that featured many of the area’s best high school and college vaulters.

The number of vaulters attending the meet this year was down from the 2007 field with two major factors to blame: gasoline prices and the Olympic trials. Organizers heard early in the summer from many prospective vaulters who said fuel prices were going to be too steep for them to make it to the event from their various corners of the country. Organizers also had the misfortune of having their event scheduled just at the end of the Olympic Trials — when qualified and alternate vaulters are not likely to risk injury in another event six weeks away from Beijing.

So Lawler, Peters and Bryant decided to place the emphasis on local high school and college talent for the 2008 competition, attracting vaulters such as BYU-bound Christen Botteron, KU’s Jordan Scott, Linda Kuenzi of Shawnee Mission Northwest (third place at the 6A state meet) and 2A state champion Keegan Williams of Maranatha Academy, as well as Mill Valley’s Ashley Bowman and Alaina Fairbanks.

The organizers also received the welcome 11th-hour news of April Steiner-Bennett’s arrival. Steiner-Bennett had already qualified for the Beijing Olympics and was looking for one more event before traveling overseas for the games.

With a competitive field set and the inclusion of well-known national talent, the event kicked off at 6 p.m. Saturday. After about 45 minutes of competition, thunderstorms forced a two-hour delay. Competition eventually resumed, but storms returned again. Organizers and athletes agreed to finish the event Sunday.

Sunday’s weather cooperated, and the competition finished without a hitch.

Scott won the men’s vault at a mark of 17 feet. He narrowly missed a meet record of 17-10 in three attempts on a shortened runway.

Kuenzi earned the high school girls’ gold medal at 10-6 with Maranatha’s Williams taking second at 10-0.

Unfortunately, Steiner-Bennett suffered an injury Sunday morning and was unable to meet height for the event. The injury should not affect her performance in Beijing.

Despite the hurdles leapt to pull off the event in 2008, Peters said he, Lawler and Bryant are encouraged by the meet’s success and are ready to see it reach new heights now that it’s become firmly entrenched in the KC metro area sports calendar.

“100 percent yes,” Peters responded when asked whether the event would continue in its current format. “We already sat down yesterday and we’re already making plans. We had lots of scheduling conflicts this year, but April said that she 100 percent wants to come back next year. Jordan Scott has committed for next year. Once we get some more people on board, you are going to see this event just take off.”

For more information on the Light It Up event or pole vaulting instruction, go online to brokenpole.com or vaultmidwest.com.