Rules that make the vault harder or more dangerous

[kcvault]

1.) Short pegs (and no voltzing). I am not arguing that the world record would not stand with long pegs (Bubka came no where near touching the bar) but it does make the sport harder. Also it makes practice run less efficiently because of the difficulty putting up the cross bar.

2.) Only 1 min on the runway, it used to be longer, this makes it difficult to deal with winds.

3.) NO run through's after the competition starts. This means if an elite competition starts at 17ft and the top guys want to come in at 19ft they need to be on there big poles after being cold for two hours. I feel this adds unnecessary risk to the sport resulting in a lot of vaults landing near the box (Might be why walker jumps higher in smaller meets right now). You might think why not come it at 18ft and get there run through's then, but this makes the vaulter tired at higher heights, making it difficult to set a world record.

I feel these rules were put into place to make the event run faster and make it easier on the official but don't think they have the best interest of the athlete in mind. The rules are the same for everyone so the competition is still fair but we would see a lot more world record attempts and create more interest in our sport if these rules were not there. (Not suggesting the rules can be changed, just ranting).

--Kasey

[dj]

Good morning,

Q&A

# 1… use a bungee in practice.. or clear the bar.. on a beautiful sunny October Saturday morning Earl cleared 15-6… 5 times (consecutive) 16-0 .. 5 times—16-6… 5 times.. missed 3 at 17-0.. lowered the bar.. to 16-6.. 3 makes.. 17-0 three misses.. back and forth for 50 jumps…

His PR was 16-8 from the NCAA in June

# 2 adjust the grip, pole and or the run for the wind conditions of the day.

# 3 know your run and grip for your opener.. period

And the one that trumps them all and is the number one factor in safe vaulting is a correct approach run…

If you see Hooker, Lavillenie or Isi have an "un-safe" vault.. the run is always off.. generally stretched.. causing a poor plant and takeoff…

Fixing the approach run is THE safest thing that can be done in pole vaulting today..

DJ

[kcvault]

I agree with you 100% on ways to make the vault safer and more consistent. Personally I always come in on the smallest pole that I can make my opening height on with the standards at 80. However if the iaaf rules allowed for a couple minutes on the runway if you have not come in after the first hour like NCAA does then that opening height would be higher resulting in a overall higher height (this rarely affects me since I jump mostly at college meets but I believe it has a serious negative effect on our elite guys.) The problem is most people I know will start on the pole they ended there initial warm up with, this results in dangerous jumps after waiting for two hours with no warm up jumps allowed (Fault of the athlete but the rule does not help.)

I believe the safety and success of the athlete is the responsibility of the coach and athlete despite the rule. The best athlete will still always win because they will have done the proper preparation and made the proper adjustments, I just don't feel the rules are in the best interest of the athlete.

--Kasey

[dj]

I also believe there should be a "warm-up" run through..for some and those that want/need it.... and the time is/could be a little "restrictive"…

I also know it was done to shorten a very long competition instead of limiting the number of jumpers..

The short pegs is not what has "preserved" Bubka's record.. it's short run vaulting and a vaulter NOT moving to at least 20 steps… you need more speed to jump 6 meters.. and to have more speed over the last six steps you have to be running faster AT/BY six steps to the take off and be accurate.. Speed to Grip to "MID".. ratio..

DJ