NON Results

[rainbowgirl28]

Does it take 5 minutes from the time you decide to turn the pit around to the time you have athletes jumping in the new direction? No.

I really hate to be judgemental about turning the pit around due to wind. Wind changes direction, and I was not there.

However, if the time and energy involved is the primary factor in the decision to not turn the pits around, then shame on you guys. As Jason pointed out, you had a large group of 40+ able and willing young men who would have been happy to help. Any delays in the schedule this would have caused should have been irrelevant. The vaulters' safety should come first. No, it doesn't take 5 minutes, but I don't care how complicated the setup is, if you had the kids and coaches helping, it could happen in 15-20 minutes tops.

It almost baffles me how the NSSF has now put on indoor and outdoor championship meets that for two years straight have been majorly frustrating for pole vaulters, allowing the same problems to go uncorrected.

Being on the west coast, traveling to these meets is really expensive and time consuming. If I have another elite high school vaulter in the next few years, I would just advise them to compete at Simplot Games indoors and Golden West outdoors. It's not worth it to fly across the country to meets that do not make the athletes their top priority.

[CLCPV04]

While it was a headwind and cross wind, it was not as severe as some are leading you to believe.

The wind readings from events going the other direction (considered wind-aided) were legal.

The sprinting events were run in the same direction as the vault.

Once the decision was made to leave the pitt in one direction for the first section of the vault, it could not be moved for the second section, as both sections were in effect competing for placing.

While I cannot defend the warm-up procedure for the indoor Nike meet, the Nike Outdoor meet was well run.

[Soar Like an Eagle]

Answer from an official in response to your posts:


Was the wind an issue? Yes

Did we closely consider which direction to run the event? Yes.

Does it take 5 minutes from the time you decide to turn the pit around to the time you have athletes jumping in the new direction? No.

Headwind is a headwind no matter which way you slice it. If there is an opportunity to switch the pit for a tailwind with the amount of pole vaulters competing, switch the pit. Pole vaulters are a closely knit group and I bet all the competitors could have it switched in 20 minutes and been warmed up ready to jump in another 30-40 minutes because they are some of the nations best. People spend a lot of money to come to the Nike meet; they should be given the opportunity to be able to compete in the best conditions possible.

PS: Tim Mack jumped 19’3â€Â

[PVmama]

The headwind was not good.
I'm also curious about the number of boys in Flight 1. The standard was supposed to be 15'1", but they let in vaulters who have not done that height, increasing the first flight to 33... ??

[CLCPV04]

Every athlete in the field had a performance of atleast 15-1 to get into the meet.

Where the line is drawn between championship section and unseeded section is a seeding committee's decision. They typically try to have no more than 20 in the championship flight.


The pitt was left in the position that has historically been wind-favorable, as advised by NC A & T Track coaches. Wind there typically in the mornings is a head wind, with it switching by most afternoons to a predominantly tail wind.

[AVC Coach]

I don't think anyone is blaming you Chelo. We just want to whine a little. It's over and I'm not going to "should" on myself anymore. I'm ready to focus on USATF Jr. Nationals now!

Thanks for all of your help!

[CLCPV04]

There was some headwind that day. If I had any credibility, I would have asked for it to be moved. Problem is that two years ago when I raised HELL to have it moved, only to be denied by the comittee, the wind DID switch and I looked... well... like a whiny vaulter.

[vault3rb0y]

Well im not going to say it was a horendous head wind, i remember the wind reading being .4m/sec and times and i saw it at high as 3.(something)m/sec at one time. You are right chelo, it was definitely the kind of wind that could have switched from the first to the second group, and would have given the first group an unfair advantage. I just wish that when athletes are a first priority, they could just ask us. Most of the vaulters would have either wanted it switched or not cared. If the chance of it switching directions was an issue, we should all look on the weather channels the day of the meet and see whether its supposed to switch or not. I think all we need to be is a little more informed and involved in the decision making process, and next year it will be great.

But i give a HUGE special thanks to Chelo for signing me up late while we were DRIVING to the meet, because my stupid self forgot to pay my entry fee! (i looked in my spam box and vwalah!... there are the messages telling me to pay ) If it weren't for you, Chelo, i wouldn't have been able to compete! Thank you so much, and i look forward to seeing you next year!

[carryabigstick]

Officials have a built-in, instintual aversion to changing the pit. It seems to be a like a personal soap box of sorts. So many times I have heard "but the prevailing wind goes this way" . Its like standing in a rainstorm saying "its not supposed to rain today". Thats when I say: "I understand that the weather channel says the wind is supposed to go that way.....but ITS GOING THE OTHER WAY" Their main concern is precious "zeroing" of the standards and all the the little nit picky pit-related set up things. Somehow that whole "forrest for the trees" concept gets lost. I'll use some more quotation marks in a minute. That sucks for all those who were excited and ready to jump really high. I would advise finding a meet with less obsessive official and more athlete friendly/common sense managment. Those official deserve a nice hickory lashing. Or maybe they could just have to jump into a headwind and come down in that steel box a time or two. BTW: I was at an NCAA meet where they turned the pit 2 times to get it right. So no excuses Mr. Big Hat/Free Shirt.

[vaultmd]

Or maybe you could become a certified official and be part of the solution.

[rainbowgirl28]

Or maybe you could become a certified official and be part of the solution.

Agreed.

Our USATF officials are rapidly aging, and there is a severe lack of younger officials coming up to replace them. I definitely think that anyone who complains about officiating should make it a priority to get certified in the next few years.

I officiate all the time, the only reason I am not USATF certified yet is scheduling conflicts with the clinics we've had.

When I told the head officials in my association I wanted to get certified, they almost fell off their chairs they were so excited.

[rainbowgirl28]

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