What's True And What's A Myth?

[Lax PV]

I've heard a few pole vault rumors and am not quite sure which ones are true. I just recently heard a rumor that stated, "if you got off the mat before the crossbar fell, it is considered a make." Some people said it was true, others disagreed. Is this true or not?

Not true and never has been true.

Just gotta get out of the barn down in Jonesboro ..i tripped on my spikes trying to do that once haha

[dafox]

the one thing you DONT want to do when the bar is wobbling is go runnin off the pit! if its wobbling, just lay there till it a) falls or b) you get the white flag.

[ashcraftpv]

one rule I had to call officials on twice last year was them calling a miss on kids that ran up, stopped, and stepped up on to the front buns. Its only considered an attempt if you touch any part of the mats past the plane of the back of the box. This includes the pole as well, so if I run up, stop, and stick the tip of my pole through the plane without touching anything, its not a miss!

Your best weapon is to always have a rule book with you. If its not in the rule book, then its not a rule!

[Cooleo111]

one rule I had to call officials on twice last year was them calling a miss on kids that ran up, stopped, and stepped up on to the front buns. Its only considered an attempt if you touch any part of the mats past the plane of the back of the box. This includes the pole as well, so if I run up, stop, and stick the tip of my pole through the plane without touching anything, its not a miss!

I don't know where you're from, but in high school in Jersey you are not allowed to touch the mats at all...if you do it's considered a miss. You can however plant your pole in the box and go back, or let your pole break the plane without touching the mats. Also, if you plant and leave the ground with both feet, that is considered a miss. In my experience, the rule you described is accurate for USATF meets, not scholastic ones.

[Lax PV]

one rule I had to call officials on twice last year was them calling a miss on kids that ran up, stopped, and stepped up on to the front buns. Its only considered an attempt if you touch any part of the mats past the plane of the back of the box. This includes the pole as well, so if I run up, stop, and stick the tip of my pole through the plane without touching anything, its not a miss!

I don't know where you're from, but in high school in Jersey you are not allowed to touch the mats at all...if you do it's considered a miss. You can however plant your pole in the box and go back, or let your pole break the plane without touching the mats. Also, if you plant and leave the ground with both feet, that is considered a miss. In my experience, the rule you described is accurate for USATF meets, not scholastic ones.

High School meets follow the NFHS rules not USATF. That is the way all HS meets are supposed to be ran. If they called that a miss, they were either A. making up a rule, B. going by a different set of rules, or C. they made the call and no one spoke up.

ashcraft is right on... if you have the rule book you have an argument. If you can't prove it to be either a rule or not a rule, the chances of you persuading anyone are VERY slim.

[ashcraftpv]

I don't know where you're from, but in high school in Jersey you are not allowed to touch the mats at all...if you do it's considered a miss. You can however plant your pole in the box and go back, or let your pole break the plane without touching the mats. Also, if you plant and leave the ground with both feet, that is considered a miss. In my experience, the rule you described is accurate for USATF meets, not scholastic ones.

I'm from the United States of America and follow the rules spelled out by the NFHS. Unless New Jersey has additional rules that I'm not aware of, simply touching the mats in the way I described earlier is not a miss.

From the rule book:

Rule 7 Jumping Events
SECTION 5. Pole Vault

ART. 29... It is a foul if the competitor:...

b. Leaves the ground in an attempt and fails to clear the crossbar.

d. Allows any part of his/her body or the pole to touch the ground or the landing pad beyond the vertical plane of the top of the stop board, without clearing the bar.

in regards to b) simply having both feet leave the ground does not necessarily constitute a miss. it is up to the official to determine intent, but if a vaulter is clearly trying to stop and uses the pole in the box to stop, and his feet come off the ground, I'm not going to count it as a miss. Jan Johnson clarified this rule at a seminar he gave and told us the intent of the rule was to count it as a miss if the vaulter was clearly trying to make an attempt at the bar, not trying to stop.

I know the NFHS and Jan have been trying to make the rules as clear as possible. I would advise EVERY vaulter, coach, and official to read the latest rule book at the beginning of every season and have one with you at every meet if a all possible.

[vcpvcoach]

The very first thing that I ask of my head coach is a current copy of the Rule Book. I pull it out at least four or five meets a season mostly because the people running the pit have never seen it.

The rule that got to me this last season was the pole marking rule.

I bought 10 pole from Altuis who don't mark weigth on the contrasting band like every other manufacturer. At our conference meet, the coach running the pits told me that my poles would be illeagal at sectionals.

Not true.

I have copied and blown up the rule that covers pole marking so it's easier to read.

[vaultmd]

If the wind is blowing your pole towards the crossbar, you can catch your own pole.

[Cooleo111]

I'm from the United States of America and follow the rules spelled out by the NFHS. Unless New Jersey has additional rules that I'm not aware of, simply touching the mats in the way I described earlier is not a miss.

In that case, NJ may have some extra rules from the NJSIAA that they use in conjunction with that one....otherwise I guess they've been using the wrong rules for a long time now!

[ashcraftpv]

I'm from the United States of America and follow the rules spelled out by the NFHS. Unless New Jersey has additional rules that I'm not aware of, simply touching the mats in the way I described earlier is not a miss.

In that case, NJ may have some extra rules from the NJSIAA that they use in conjunction with that one....otherwise I guess they've been using the wrong rules for a long time now!

I'd guess that the officials are just wrong and don't fully know the rules.

[1yeldud1]

Not sure about the vaulter catching the pole if the wind is blowing toward the pit -- are you sure about this ?

[vaultmd]

Not sure about the vaulter catching the pole if the wind is blowing toward the pit -- are you sure about this ?

The thread is: What's True and What is a Myth?