PoleVaultPower.com

Please note i have posted a video clip at my site http://www.skyjumpers.com regarding our new SafeyMax Pole Vault box collar.
We are very excited about the added safety this piece of equipment brings to the sport.
Check it out!

Jan Johsnon
National PV Safety Chair

I like it!

I noticed that the production model is quite a bit different than the prototype shown in the vid ...


The prototype was going to make the box too narrow, and the flat top surface ... that someone might try to land on ... might buckle under their weight, causing an ankle injury (but still saving a more severe ankle injury). I think the minimal dimensions of the "flaps" in the production model have improved this, but I question if there's enough material to truly buffer the impact. Even so, anything's better than hitting solid metal!

This collar actually reduces the inside dimensions of the pit, so to be used for official meets, it may need certification ... or was this supposed to be used only for practices? I hope certification (if required) comes without much hassle from any naysayers. It's not as good as the Skydex box IMHO, but for retrofitting an existing box, it's the best ... and least expensive ... alternative that I've seen!

One concern I have is the density of the foam. Current rules specify "2 inches of foam around the box" (or something like that), yet don't specify the TYPE or DENSITY of the foam. It would be ridiculous to use a very soft foam ... yet that's within today's rules. A foam with the density of something like Skydex would be best. The foam needs to be dense enough to prevent hard impact with the metal (and runway) underneath it ... from a 200 lb athlete (or less) falling 21 feet (or less). I think the Skydex box meets this criteria, but does the SafetyMax Box Collar?

Kirk

Thanks Kirk,
Yes,The photo i show on my video is the actual one. The Gill catalog photo is a touch up and its incorrect.
Here are some important points:
Its three inches thick.
The foam meets the ASTM Wall Pad Energy Abspobtion minimus,which is approximalty 2X better than any current box collar.
The Padding on the interior side walls is also three inches thick.
The Back is tapered at the same 105 degree angle at the back of the box itself. The inside panals are up off the bottom so that they still allow the pole to slide to the back.
We went through approximalty 7 or 8 different prototypes until we found what we were looking for.

~jan~

The photo in the catalog is indeed a mock up. The development and design were done but a finished product was not available in time for the photo shoot. The catalog image is a standard 2 in box collar with the "wings" added to draw attention to the design.

So far there are about 8 of them in use (not counting the prototypes that were used extensively at Jans and the U of Illinois) and no one has yet to identify any cases where it has interfered with the pole in any way but there are already a few intances where a vaulter has been happy to have the new design.

I jumped with the new box coller several times and after the first jump you forget it's even there, its plenty wide enough and in no way interferes with the pole planting or the pole rolling. I layed in it in the position you would be in if you were to come down in the box and concluded there is much less chance of hitting your head in the box. Also I like the way it fits around and in the box, I constantly have to adjust our old box coller to bring it closer or move it away to stop it from stopping the bend of the pole. I'm going to try to talk the coach at stanislaus into buying this box coller this year. Especially with how dangerous some of new decathletes are.

After jumping at 5 indoor practices where this box collar is in use, I endorse this as a substantial improvement from the standard collar. The improvement is the reduction of unprotected area of the box. This comes with no noticeable negatives to function of the pole in the box, and no noticeable "psychological" effects either. After one or two jumps, I was unaware of its presence in the box. I would say there are more mental concerns about variation of the front buns from pit to pit than there would be with the variation of standard box collar to the SafetyMax box collar. Good work Jan!

What is the status of this product being allowed by NFHS for high school practices and competitions?

- master

Gracias Danno!
Come to the coaches meetings in Reno and tell them!
~jan~

Looking over the NFHS, I see no reason why this would not be legal. The padding requirements around the box only state the maximum gap between the box and any padding, not any minimum. Does everyone else agree?

OTOH, might be nice to get NFHS to issue a statement explicitly declaring it ok, just in case a school is worried about a visiting team getting freaked out about it and complaining. It's about 50% more than the normal box collar from Gill, but that is only about $150 more, and relative to the rest of the landing system not really a big deal.

Now combine that with the new "softbox" and you've got a pretty damn safe pole vaulting facility!

Just remember that all precautions do not overshadow the importance of safe vaulting and safe coaching. This is a first, and all precautions hereafter come second!

If we can eliminate most of our in box injuries, we will be a lot better off as a sport.
~jj~

We Just bought one of those. it takes a little getting used to but it doesnt affect my jumping. I was a little hesitant at first since it made the box look a lot smaller at a distance but now im used to it. great product
-Riley

Riley,
Thanks for the post. If you not already doing so i recommend that you run some double sided tape along the top inside edges of your box to help hold it into place better. We have noticed that sometimes the front sections seem to drift a little to the middle. The tape works perfectly.

Where do you vault?

~jan~