Maryland's dumping Pole Vault!
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Maryland's dumping Pole Vault!
I found out from my mother the other day that Maryland high schools will only have pole vault as a non point scoring event next year. She told me of an article that complained about the new pit regulations, saying that it would cost schools too much money to meet the regulations. Also, where I am from, Columbia, there are no coaches, so no one is there to help athletes get interested or learn correctly. I was also told that this decision is going to hopefully allow the event to die out in our state. I learned to pole vault without a coach, and without training very well. I did it for fun, and it wasn't until I walked onto my college's team that I really began to vault. I know now all the opportunities that are out there for high school vaulters. I look at the high schools in places like the west coast, mid west, and south west, and I'm extremely jealous that I never had those opportunities. If anyone has any ideas to help keep vaulting alive in Maryland ... I'm all ears!
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PvaultinGirl
- PV Whiz
- Posts: 179
- Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2002 3:56 pm
more or less, we got told that we wouldn't have vault in our schools system this year (just for our county though). just a suggestion but try writing letters to whoever decided upon this. if you get AS MANY people as possible to write them, they can't just ignore it! can they? i sure hope not! it worked for us and now we are getting new mats (finally!). just a suggestion though. 
good luck!
good luck!POLE VAULTING....Fear is NOT and option!
thats so horrible that they are trying to take it away....i dont know how much the new rules are going to affect vaulting in my region and state, but i do know that they're will probably be less meets to jump at....it sucks.... ican't imagine not having vaulting in a state, and feel bad for anyone who doesnt
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Talent in cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
-Stephen King
What!? I'm new here so I should probably introduce myself.
I went to Crossland Sr. High in Temple Hills, MD and was a pole vaulter on our track team. The idea that Maryland is getting rid of the Pole Vault is shocking! I had so many good experiences and so many fond memories that I cannot imagine that other kids won't be afforded the same opportunity.
If there is an address to which I can send a letter or two, please let me know and I will definitely mail them.
84rules
I went to Crossland Sr. High in Temple Hills, MD and was a pole vaulter on our track team. The idea that Maryland is getting rid of the Pole Vault is shocking! I had so many good experiences and so many fond memories that I cannot imagine that other kids won't be afforded the same opportunity.
If there is an address to which I can send a letter or two, please let me know and I will definitely mail them.
84rules
Md vault
Nice to know there's another person from Md here. I went to Oakland Mills High School in Columbia and vaulted my junior and senior years, and now vault for UGA. According to my high school coach, here are the new rules: From now on, the vault is a non point scoring event and only kids who have vaulted in previous years are allowed to vault. No new vaulters are allowed, therefore, the vault will end in Md in a matter of years. I'm still not sure who the one person is that I need to write a letter to, but I am working on it. Thanks for your help!
I finally found the news article about this. It's from the Baltimore Sun dated December 4, 2002.
Safety concerns ground pole vault
New national standards may prove too imposing hurdle for schools to leap
By Edward Lee
Sun Staff
Originally published December 4, 2002
Like cassette tapes and Atari, the pole vault is in danger of becoming obsolete.
The pole vault has been classified as a non-scoring event for the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) in light of updated national standards regarding the size of the padding area that cushions the pole-vaulters.
The pole vault will still be run among the 13 indoor and 18 outdoor events at county championships in the Baltimore metropolitan area, and at the regional and state championship meets. But individual results will not count toward team scores.
"It's a safety factor," said Freddie Hendricks, the director of the state indoor track tournament committee.
The change was mandated by the National Federation of State High School Associations, which ordered schools to enlarge the pits where pole-vaulters land.
Generally measured about 16 feet wide by 18 feet deep, the landing pads must now be expanded to 19 feet, 8 inches wide and 20 feet, 2 inches deep.
The federation introduced the requirement after three athletes died while competing in the pole vault earlier this year. Two of them were high school students.
Hendricks said the reasoning behind the non-scoring status is threefold.
First, very few schools have landing pads that meet the new national federation's standards. Winters Mill track and field coach Jim Shank estimates that 20 percent of the schools in Maryland comply with the regulations.
Allowing athletes at those schools to practice while freezing out athletes at other programs would be unfair, which is the feeling among area coaches.
Second, the cost to upgrade the padding areas is exorbitant. With estimates ranging between $3,000 to $10,000, few public schools have the room in their athletic budgets to support such an expansion.
And third, administrators are naturally concerned over the spate of deaths. A study that researched 34 pole vault deaths concluded that 32 could have been prevented if the pits were larger.
"Of course, that prompted the powers-that-be to make things safe," said Hendricks, who is also the track and field coach at Mervo. "If the pits have to increase in size, we have to make adjustments."
The decision seems to have an equal number of supporters and critics among coaches. Glenelg coach Mike Selmer said the change will hurt pole-vaulters hoping to attract scholarship offers from colleges.
"There are going to very few pole-vaulters to get that money if the state is not going to support them," he said. "I think Maryland is on its way to phasing out the pole vault completely."
But South Carroll coach Rob Pennington said the risk of death outweighs the potential for athletic scholarships.
"Sooner or later, someone's going to get hurt," he said. "I don't think anyone wants that on their conscience to say, 'Could I have changed that?' "
Counties in the metro area are doing what they can to keep the pole vault active. Anne Arundel has legal pole vault areas at four sites to be shared by all 12 public schools.
Century and Winters Mill will be the practice sites in Carroll, while in Howard, the padding area from Reservoir was moved to Centennial, a more centralized location in the county.
Baltimore City does not have a pole vault area for its schools. Baltimore County has six sites: the 5th Regiment Armory, Dulaney, Eastern Tech, Hereford, Parkville and Woodlawn.
Like Selmer, some coaches believe the pole vault will become the state's next javelin, an event that hasn't been endorsed by the state for at least 50 years, Hendricks said. But he is guardedly optimistic that schools will find the funding to upgrade their pits and help return the pole vault as a scoring event.
"If it comes back, we need it to come back right away," he said. "The longer it's out, it's out."
Safety concerns ground pole vault
New national standards may prove too imposing hurdle for schools to leap
By Edward Lee
Sun Staff
Originally published December 4, 2002
Like cassette tapes and Atari, the pole vault is in danger of becoming obsolete.
The pole vault has been classified as a non-scoring event for the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) in light of updated national standards regarding the size of the padding area that cushions the pole-vaulters.
The pole vault will still be run among the 13 indoor and 18 outdoor events at county championships in the Baltimore metropolitan area, and at the regional and state championship meets. But individual results will not count toward team scores.
"It's a safety factor," said Freddie Hendricks, the director of the state indoor track tournament committee.
The change was mandated by the National Federation of State High School Associations, which ordered schools to enlarge the pits where pole-vaulters land.
Generally measured about 16 feet wide by 18 feet deep, the landing pads must now be expanded to 19 feet, 8 inches wide and 20 feet, 2 inches deep.
The federation introduced the requirement after three athletes died while competing in the pole vault earlier this year. Two of them were high school students.
Hendricks said the reasoning behind the non-scoring status is threefold.
First, very few schools have landing pads that meet the new national federation's standards. Winters Mill track and field coach Jim Shank estimates that 20 percent of the schools in Maryland comply with the regulations.
Allowing athletes at those schools to practice while freezing out athletes at other programs would be unfair, which is the feeling among area coaches.
Second, the cost to upgrade the padding areas is exorbitant. With estimates ranging between $3,000 to $10,000, few public schools have the room in their athletic budgets to support such an expansion.
And third, administrators are naturally concerned over the spate of deaths. A study that researched 34 pole vault deaths concluded that 32 could have been prevented if the pits were larger.
"Of course, that prompted the powers-that-be to make things safe," said Hendricks, who is also the track and field coach at Mervo. "If the pits have to increase in size, we have to make adjustments."
The decision seems to have an equal number of supporters and critics among coaches. Glenelg coach Mike Selmer said the change will hurt pole-vaulters hoping to attract scholarship offers from colleges.
"There are going to very few pole-vaulters to get that money if the state is not going to support them," he said. "I think Maryland is on its way to phasing out the pole vault completely."
But South Carroll coach Rob Pennington said the risk of death outweighs the potential for athletic scholarships.
"Sooner or later, someone's going to get hurt," he said. "I don't think anyone wants that on their conscience to say, 'Could I have changed that?' "
Counties in the metro area are doing what they can to keep the pole vault active. Anne Arundel has legal pole vault areas at four sites to be shared by all 12 public schools.
Century and Winters Mill will be the practice sites in Carroll, while in Howard, the padding area from Reservoir was moved to Centennial, a more centralized location in the county.
Baltimore City does not have a pole vault area for its schools. Baltimore County has six sites: the 5th Regiment Armory, Dulaney, Eastern Tech, Hereford, Parkville and Woodlawn.
Like Selmer, some coaches believe the pole vault will become the state's next javelin, an event that hasn't been endorsed by the state for at least 50 years, Hendricks said. But he is guardedly optimistic that schools will find the funding to upgrade their pits and help return the pole vault as a scoring event.
"If it comes back, we need it to come back right away," he said. "The longer it's out, it's out."
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