Grand Haven Beach Vault Update

[indestructo]

For those of you who were there and didn't get the email from Coach Patterson regarding Simon Obarto. Here it is...

Hello Beach Vaulters,

I wanted to express my gratitude to all of you for coming to the Grand Haven
Beach Vault. The vaulting community is a pretty close group of people, who
all share a common bond. Never was this more evident then on Saturday, when a
young man named Simon Obarto was injured. Your show of caring and support for
Simon was incredible, and I thank you for that. I have spoken with the Obarto
family, and Simon is doing pretty good. I have had many emails asking for an
update on his condition, and I wanted to send this update out to you. A nice
gesture might be to just drop him an email, letting him know your concern and
that you wish him the best. Simon's email is : simon3@covad.net. He is just
an outstanding kid, from an outstanding family, and part of our vaulting
family. Please show your support for this young man. I thank you from the bottom
of my heart.

God Bless,

Coach Patterson


For those of you who weren't.... We nearly lost a member of the pole vault community last Saturday at the GH beach vault. I won't go into details, but it seems that he's going to be ok. This incident serve's as a tremendous reminder how important it is to have all padding in place and secured in place. This includes all base pads as well as the pads protecting the standard bases.

I realized that having those standard base pads on and strapped in causes a hassle while you're trying to move the standards, but its a hell of a lot better then the risk of serious injury. If you don't have these pads then get some or use other suitable padding and make sure it is secured in place.