Perfect grip height

[wacky274]

Not to attack FlyerChick, but just to inform...you said that you have never held above the band and they have worked fine, but it is hard to know what it is like if you have never tried it. I am not recommending to merely go hold the top of your pole for the experience, as has been mentioned grip height has factors that help determine this. What I am getting at is that I have tried both, and spoken with an elite vaulter about this particular situation, and it was told me to, and from I have experienced this is no less safe then what you are used to. I used to be in the same belief as you (kinda) so understand where you are coming from, but just because it's teh way you learned doesnt mean its always correct. We have to be willing to accept change if we ever wish to improve.

[FlyerChick4]

Just to inform you guys, I was talking about high school vaulters. There is no reason i high school vaulter should need to hold above the hight put on there by the manufacturer. Your not going to be able to hold above that weight band at you state meets so why get used to doing it. As for college and elite, if there is no rule saying they can't cap their poles, let them do it. I just don't understand why there is any need for a high school vaulter to feel the need to break the rules and hold higher than the weight band.

[FlyerChick4]

Just to add a little more, I am pretty sure if you get injured while pole vaulting and you are holding above the maximum grip height for the pole, I don't think any insurance company would pay for the medical cost for you injuries.

[lonestar]

Just to inform you guys, I was talking about high school vaulters. There is no reason i high school vaulter should need to hold above the hight put on there by the manufacturer. Your not going to be able to hold above that weight band at you state meets so why get used to doing it. As for college and elite, if there is no rule saying they can't cap their poles, let them do it. I just don't understand why there is any need for a high school vaulter to feel the need to break the rules and hold higher than the weight band.

Nobody said that high school kids should break the rules, and we don't break them. Our college and open athletes can and sometimes do hold above the bands. The point was that poles CAN be held at the top and the handhold band rule is largely ineffective because you can hold well below it and still be holding too high for your ability, or be gripping above it and be holding too low for your ability. Grip height should be determined by amount of bend and where you're landing. The high school rules need to be revisited and rewritten to enforce safe landings in the PLZ instead of arbitrarily requiring certain handholds and weight rating.

[lonestar]

Just to add a little more, I am pretty sure if you get injured while pole vaulting and you are holding above the maximum grip height for the pole, I don't think any insurance company would pay for the medical cost for you injuries.

Depends on what type of insurance you're talking about. Health insurance, liability insurance, accidental death and dismemberment? Health insurance doesn't discriminate about how you got hurt, just the type of treatment and amount of it that it will cover. ADandD varies. Liability involves a lawsuit...

If some vaulter's a dumbass, vaults unsafely, gets hurt and then sues someone for his ignorance, he doesn't deserve to win anyway.

[Antihero43]

Just to inform you guys, I was talking about high school vaulters. There is no reason i high school vaulter should need to hold above the hight put on there by the manufacturer. Your not going to be able to hold above that weight band at you state meets so why get used to doing it. As for college and elite, if there is no rule saying they can't cap their poles, let them do it. I just don't understand why there is any need for a high school vaulter to feel the need to break the rules and hold higher than the weight band.

Im currently a high school graduate and i vaulted all through high school. I in many cases had to hold at the very top or "cap" the pole because they were too short for my speed and jump. I went to Benson High school and just because we have a kick a** sprint program doesnt mean the field events get money. It wasnt until my senior year, this past year, i finally got a pole where i could hold below these so called safety weight bands. So to answer you yes there is a reason for it, and as long as you rip off the weight band and just ingrave the weight rating what official can tell where you "should" be holding anyways.