Big 10 Helmet Info Doc

[PVJunkie]

ALL BIG 10 VAULTERS (yes that includes decathaletes) MUST READ AND SIGN THIS DOC!! What do ya think?? Kinda summs up all the bickering on this board with legal ease. Amazing that a lawyer did it it less words than US vaulters.

BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Helmet Information for Pole Vaulters

Beginning with the 2002-03 academic year all Big Ten pole vaulters are required by Conference rules to document in writing that they have reviewed with their institution’s coaches the pros and cons of wearing a helmet for the pole vault event.

As of this date there is no one right answer to the question whether a pole vaulter should wear a helmet while training and competing. For now, no regulations require the use of a helmet (nor do they prohibit it) and there is no helmet specifically approved for use in pole vaulting. While there have been some past studies and there currently is research under way to evaluate the use of helmets and the proper type of helmet for the use in pole vaulting, the studies do not provide a definite answer whether, as a pole vaulter, you should wear a helmet while training and competing, or even what type of helmet you should wear if you choose to wear one. The studies and on going debate about helmet use at best provide a list of factors you should consider when deciding whether or not a helmet is the correct choice for you.

Some arguments in favor of helmet use:

· The most frequent, debilitating or fatal injuries to pole vaulters are head injuries resulting from landing with the head or entire body off the landing pad, or landing in the vault box.

· A proper helmet, properly worn, may prevent serious (debilitating for fatal) head injuries.

· The risk of other injuries from the use of a helmet is likely small compared to the possible potential for preventing serious or fatal head injuries.

Some arguments against helmet use:

· Many argue that the incidence of serious head injuries to pole vaulters is relatively low, thus the risk of other injuries that may result from the use of a helmet may outweigh the benefit of potentially preventing a few serious head injuries.

· Some argue that the use of a helmet may give the athlete a false sense of security and well being.

Big Ten Conference
Helmet Information for Pole Vaulters
Page Two


Because there currently are no regulations requiring, recommending or approving the use of helmets by pole vaulters, and because there are no helmets approved for use in pole vaulting, we cannot recommend whether or not to wear a helmet or what type of helmet to wear if you choose to do so. In the end, you must understand that, notwithstanding proper equipment, training and support, pole vaulting is a dangerous activity. Just as your decision about whether or not to participate in pole vaulting is a personal decision based on your analysis of the risks and rewards to you, so also must be your decision about whether or not to wear a helmet and, if so what type of a personal decision that you make based on your analysis of the perceived benefits and risks.


I have read and understand the above statement.



Participant’s Name (Please Print)

[zack]

So is this so the Big Ten can cover their a@@ if another injury/death occurs and someone decides it would be a "good" idea to sue? Is it necessary?

[Decamouse]

If helmets are on of the things that help keep the sport alive - then so be it - bigger/safer pits - equipment and- more importantly proper coaching - whatever it takes - I am starting to believe that maybe something like Jan's coaches test may not be a bad idea - at least try to educate the HS teacher who gets volunteered to be the PV coach - thats what the Big Ten ltr is -education- awareness - at tis time there is no definitive right answer on helmets -

[thornhillj]

sure there is......its called better safe than sorry....i know that it makes my parents' feel alot better when i wear one....not only them but my teammates, coaches, and myself.... somebody please explain the false sense of security issue to me because i just dont get it... does it mean like...ok i have a helmet on, so maybe i can get on this bigger pole??? if that is what the argument is, and that is done, then not only is the vaulter ignorant, but the coach also...because that is not smart vaulting...

ill tell you what was done at Texas Tech.....Coach Hood told all 10 of us at the beginning of the year that every vaulter WILL NOT jump in practice without a helmet.....(for all the "sense of security" people out there, could this be a confidence builder since big poles dont come around until late october, early november???....hmmm...of course it is) by that time, its NATURAL to wear one. and Hood told us that since it's not manditory for meets, its up to us to wear them if we WANT to. so i can almost promise you this....every person with a Red Raider uniform on that you see at Reno, will have a helmet on (probably with some pretty cool stickers too!) not because we have to, but because we have been vaulting with them for months (some of us years) and we just about feel naked without them.

so i give props to all helmet wearers of the vault world.....sport it proud because there is no argument here!



A HELMET WEARER AT RENO!

[indestructo]

Here's a thought for you. Now I personally probably will not wear a helmet until its mandatory, and i respect anyone and everyone who does or doesn't wear one, its your choice. But here's a point to ponder. the odds of dying from a fatal head injury in a car crash on the way to practice or a meet are much higher then the odds you will ever die from a head injury vaulting. Should we start wearing helmets while we're driving?? I still believe education is the answer. To prevent car crashes you teach the drivers how to drive, how to react in dangerous situations.....in vaulting we need to teach vaulters and especially the coaches the proper techniques of vaulting, proper training routines and drills, as well as how to react in a dangerous situation. Falling from 15+ft onto your head regardless of a helmet or not, you will be seriously injured. The only way to lessen the number of serious injuries is education. Helmets are only a pin-prick....education is the sledgehammer...
just my 2-cents worth

[thornhillj]

you are exactly right....a helmet will probably not help a fall from 15' in the air... BUT....i know for a fact that many, many head injuries come from landing on the pit and rolling off and hitting a head on the ground or something around the pit. i have worked in quite a few camps over the past few years. and i HAVE seen helmets save lives...in person...right in front of my eyes. all campers are required to wear helmets at our camps. there have been a few times where a kid has rolled off the pit and smacked his head....but was only shaken up a bit because he had a helmet on. otherwise i would have hate to be the one responsible to tell the kid's parents, well, no i didnt make him wear his helmet in practice...because deaths that occur that way CAN BE PREVENTED....its a safety measure...just like seat belts, airbags, and whatever else

[natdog]

2 questions/comments. 1. Why doesn't anybody ever make anything of all the other athletes that die in other sports such as football hockey etc..
2. If kids are hitting the pit and then rolling falling off hitting there heads, they probably shouldn't be polevaulting to begin with, it is a sport where you have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. It isn't for everyone. And why would those things of things happen at a camp where a lot of qualified coaches are? (with big pits)

[jmayesvaultmom]

As a parent who has watched hours of gymnastics, cheer, diving and pole vaulting, the difference in the sports is the ability to spot a skill. In gymnastics, when kids learn back handsprings, kips, etc. a coach can "spot" a kid and have physical contact with them during their attempt to perform a trick they are learning. In the more advanced gymnastics skills, you can only do so much. You can practice into soft pits, etc....but there comes a time when they throw a double full on floor or a double back off bars by themselves. It is hard to physically maintain contact with a kid during those tricks. A coach may just have to put themselves between the kid and the floor...if they can get there fast enough... In diving, there is no spotting to speak of. They can work on trampolines etc. first. Then on to the pool. The coach tries to describe and tell a kid what to do...if they mess up...they splat on the water or could possibly hit the board. In pole vaulting, you can only spot a kid so much on drills, etc. When that vault happens...it happens so fast, about the only spotting that can be done is to try to stop a kid from coming back on the runway...you can't really get around to the sides or the backs of the pits quickly enough. There are plenty of kids that while learning don't put everything together all at once. If not, pole vaulting would be easy and everyone would do it.

[natdog]

Good points. But again I wonder why you never hear any talk of doing away with Football at the high school level. I am sure there have been more death and paralasis from that sport than from p.v. Not to mention it is a very costly sport also.

[jmayesvaultmom]

Because you are talking about the cash cow of athletics! And you'd have to fight the "good 'ole boys"!