altius wrote:Sorry George -I have run out of checks!
There's his dry sense of humour again!
Sadly, this appears to be one of Alan's last posts and last threads. But it's a pretty good one to depart on. (RIP
)
He started this thread 2 months ago, to promote his trip to Michigan, where he conducted a pole-vault clinic with George Sipes (Grandvaulter) in July. I think he also gave clinics in Oregon and Montana this summer.
As luck would have it, this thread starts with him giving us a bit of a bio on his credentials - not that he needed any self-promotion. He did not start this thread for any selfish reasons, as he may not have even broken even with his travel costs on this - his last - trip to North America. He simply wanted to generously share his time and thoughts to the largest possible audience at his clinics.
He travelled from Australia to North America not to make money, but because of his dedication and love of the great sport of pole-vaulting!
You can also detect some cynicism in his posts on this thread, hinting at his disappointment that more coaches and vaulters didn't turn up for his clinic(s). There is some truth to this. Though you occasionally had to look past his sometimes gruffy tone, he really, really knew his stuff, and his heart has ALWAYS been in the right place!
I hope those that were lucky enough to have attended his clinics (this year or in any past years) will "
carry the torch of our fallen soldier", so that his legacy lives on!
Kirk