PoleVaultPower.com

http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/AllSport.htm

The pole vault was associated with a majority of the fatal track injuries. There have been 18 high school fatal pole-vaulting injuries from 1983 to 2004. This does not include the coach who was demonstrating in 1998, bounced out of the pit, struck his head on concrete, and died. In addition to the fatalities there were also ten permanent disability (7 high school and 3 college) and seven serious injuries (5 high school, one college, and one middle school). All 35 of these accidents involved the vaulter bouncing out of or landing out of the pit area. The three pole vaulting deaths in 1983 were a major concern and immediate measures were taken by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Beginning with the 1987 season all individual units in the pole vault landing area had to include a common cover or pad extending over all sections of the pit.

In 2001 there was a pole vaulting injury to a female college athlete. The athlete was vaulting indoors, bounced out of the pit, and hit her head on the floor. She had an epidural hematoma and a posterior skull fracture. At the time of the accident it was not possible to determine the extent of any long-term disability. There were no pole vaulting injuries in 2004.

Whenever there is a pole vaulting death there are more proponents of eliminating the event. The crux of the opposition appears to be the potential liability and also the lack of qualified coaches to teach the pole vault. Additional recommendations in the 1991 rule book stabilize the pole-vault standards so they cannot fall into the pit, pad the standards, remove all hazards from around the pit area and control traffic along the approach. Obvious hazards like concrete or other hard materials around the pit should be eliminated. In the National Federation of State High Schools Track and Field Rules Book, Section 4, Article10, it states as follows: Hard or unyielding surfaces, such as but not limited to concrete, metal, wood or asphalt around the landing pad, or between the planting box and the landing pad, shall be padded or cushioned with a minimum of two (2) inches of dense foam or other suitable material. It is also recommended that any excess material such as asphalt or concrete that extends out from beneath the landing pad be removed.

Due to the numbers of pole vaulting injuries there have also been a number of recommendations stating that pole vaulters should wear helmets. The National Federation of State High School Associations has made the following statement concerning pole vaulting helmet use: The NFHS has been asked if it would be permissible for high school students to wear some type of helmet while pole vaulting and they stated that it would be permissible for an athlete to wear a helmet of his/her choosing without violating the NFHS rules. A helmet designed exclusively for pole vault, the KDMax, was released in October 2004. Six state high school associations already require some type of helmet for pole vaulters, and 30 states indicated on the 2004 NFHS track and field survey that they would support mandatory helmet use if a national standard was in place. In the NCAA helmets will continue to be an option for pole vaulters.

It has been estimated that there are approximately 25,000 high school pole vaulters annually. If this number is correct, the catastrophic injury rate for high school pole vaulters would be higher than any of the sports included in the research.

rainbowgirl28 wrote: It has been estimated that there are approximately 25,000 high school pole vaulters annually. If this number is correct, the catastrophic injury rate for high school pole vaulters would be higher than any of the sports included in the research.

I firmly believe that there are considerably more than 25,000 high school pole vaulters in the US.

Have you ever read an article that called pole vaulting the deadliest sport in the US? THIS is the information they use to make that claim.

rainbowgirl28 wrote: Six state high school associations already require some type of helmet for pole vaulters, and 30 states indicated on the 2004 NFHS track and field survey that they would support mandatory helmet use if a national standard was in place.

At the ASTM meeting last fall, the NFHS representative said that the NFHS would make helmets mandatory for every state should a standard be passed.

6 states have regulations mandating helmets!!!

which states.. how interesting

i believe wisconsin is one of them

Minnesota is another. Iowa banned Pole Vaulting in 1989 so it's no issue there. Later.....Mike

Spencer Chang needs to reign in on the helmet issue.

Sounds like this article/study had its conclusion drawn before it started the reserach. It evens says that there were no injuries in 2004. Which either indicates an anomaly or it was the result of better standards and more careful attention to coaching, etc.

Are there things to fix and improve, you bet. Is it a risky sport, you bet. Sould it be life threatening, no way. But falling from 14-19 feet has some inherent risk-without factoring the pole, vaulter and conditions into the equation.

As an observer, I have found that the volunteers and judges at events are less knowledgeable of the potential dangers than they should be. Runways/pits are nearly always right next to the edge of the track, where there is a concrete berm/curb. It is never covered. Unsafe vaulters are never DQ'd. I have been to 3 or 4 major meets (State level or National Level) that are poorly administered, creating conditons less than optimum for the competitors. What happened to the "rule" about landing in the "Hot Zone" or risk being DQ'd?

Even today, new runways and are being put in without regard to prevailing wind direction. Reversable runways are not available. There is no wind indicator at many meets. There is so much that could be done to improve the vaulting and competitive experience and make it safer still.

How about standardizing and using the "coaches box" rule so the expertise can be co-located with the athlete, instead of making them do hand signals and yell from across the track. The javelin, shot put and discuss coaches can be right at the event.

I think Fraley, Jan Johnson and others intimate with the real facts should immediately present an alternate view that shows that there have been changes and improvements and that injuries are way down as compared to other extreme sports.

polevaultdad wrote:How about standardizing and using the "coaches box" rule so the expertise can be co-located with the athlete, instead of making them do hand signals and yell from across the track. The javelin, shot put and discuss coaches can be right at the event.

Ah yes, the "lost in translation" experience among vaulters and their coaches.

I hate doing this because it always happens that the announcer is calling out the runners just as the other person is responding (and from that distance, you can't read lips). Never had this happen before in gym, so I was just a bit freaked out freshman year, first real meet where this was at, and just thinking "Where's our coach?" You really do have to come up with an entirely new repertoire of hand signals to get the point across, because the yelling just doesn't work.

They list highschool catastrophic injuries, and highschool vaulters at 25,000
but then mention college and middleschool injuries? Are those used in the total catastrophic injury rate . And if not why are they mentioned?