PoleVaultPower.com

http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Sport&F=1&id=15958

The cream of British women pole vaulters come to the National Indoor Athletic Centre, Cardiff, tomorrow (Saturday) in the first pole vault competition of the 2009 indoor season.

It will be a unique competition with the only event taking place in the arena the pole vault.

The crowd will take their seats at the edge of the runway, next to the athletes and at the heart of the action. Each athlete will jump to her own choice of music and on an illuminated runway.

There will also be a big screen playback of each jump.

The competition line up (starting at 7 pm) includes 2008 Olympian Kate Dennison (15th in Beijing); UWIC Alumni and Great Britain Internationals Louise Butterworth, Emma Lyons and Henrietta Paxton, and a selection of the finest up and coming junior vaulters in the UK.

French National U23 Champion and European Cup vaulter Alixe Auvray will add an international flavour.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports/ath ... -22684931/

Athletics: Louise in pole position on her return to Uwic
Jan 14 2009 by Anthony Woolford, South Wales Echo

UWIC graduate Louise Butterworth made a successful return to college last weekend when top female athletes from across Britain and Europe went head-to-head in a pole vault spectacular.
Butterworth took the top honours as a vault of 4.06m put her in pole position and in good heart for the World Games later in 2009.
A vast selection of past and present students from the University of Wales Institute were among the contestants, some of whom will represent Team GB in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Around eight to 12 sportswomen including Great Britain internationals and European representatives ensured the pole-vault event scaled the heights, the 200 fans who turned out expected it to be.
Pole vaulting, a track and field athletics event, is an individual sport, where the objective is to vault as high as possible over a crossbar and simply, with the bar gradually increasing in height over the course of the competition – the highest jumper, walking away with the glory, title and cup.
The event at Uwic’s National Indoor Athletic Centre was first indoor competition in 2009 for all of the athletes involved and marked the beginning of a two month period of intense indoor competitions, culminating in the European Indoor Championships and then the BUCS Indoor Championships for all British student athletes.
The Uwic showdown took place under spotlights, on an illuminated runway and to music that was specifically selected by the athletes.
The competition lasted for 90 minutes and included some great early season performances from UK senior and under-20 athletes.
Apart from Butterworth’s first spot another who studied at Uwic from 2004-08, Emma Lyons, was able to vault her way into fifth place when clearing the bat at 3.85m.
She too will be looking to represent their alumni university at the World University Games later in 2009.
Scott Simpson, director of athletics at Uwic said: "In my opinion, this type of competition is going to be one of the ways to help get spectators back involved in the sport of athletics and will hopefully be embraced by other organisations in the future, particularly in the UK.
“The best of British female pole vaulting have competed against one another and European visitors.
“Not only has this been a great competition opportunity for the athletes, but a great evening’s entertainment for all those who came to watch.”
Next weekend the pole-vault roadshow moves onto Sports City, in Manchester, when the e 2008 top three female vaulters Kate Dennison, Butterworth and Lyons will again battle it out against the likes of Henrietta Paxton and Fiona Harrison.