Pole Vault City

The National Federation of State High School Associations has changed the rule on the number of layersof tape that are allowed on the grip end of the pole.  Rule 7-5-2 now allows for multiple layers of tape as long as the layers of tape are of uniform thickness.  The old rule only allowed for at most 2 layers of tapeto be used on the grip end of the pole.  It’s a nice job by the NFHS to change this rule because it was really a pesky rule, especially for officials.  The purpose of the rule is to keep vaulters from having knots or artificial elements under the tape that would give a vaulter an unfair advantage.  Vaulters used to take rope or string and spiral wrap it under their grip tape to allow for greater grip.  The old rule was especially pesky if tape became wet or damaged during a meet.  Last year at the regional championships at Harmony High School, one of my vaulters had their pole fall in a puddle after vaulting in warm-ups and required us to remove all of the old tape and put fresh tape on the pole, which had to be dried off.  The new rule will allow for the vaulter to just put tape right over the existing layers of tape and continue vaulting.  Just make sure that you are using athletic tape to tape your poles and uniform thickness will not be an issue.  If you place Gorilla Tape as the bottom layers and then place athletic tape on top of the Gorilla Tape, this would be a violation due to the differing thicknesses of tape.  Just be consistent and you won’t have any problems.

7-5-2     The vaulting pole may be of any material and of any length and diameter. It may have a binding oflayers of adhesive tape of uniform thickness on the grip end.  However, the plant end of the pole may be protected by layers of tape, PVC, sponge rubber or other suitable material to protect the pole when placed in the planting box.
Rationale:  Eliminates the limit of the requirement for only two layers of tape and requires the tape to be of uniform thickness.  Does not remove the intent that a competitor cannot build a knob type grip to enhance his/her performance.

The rule change, 7-5-29, set forth by the National Federation of State High School Associations is a reversal of a ruling set forth in the 2008 rules revisions.  The 2008 rule revision matched the USATF, NCAA, and IAAF rule that a vaulter could leave the ground, and as long as the vaulter did not land beyond the plane of the box, could continue their attempt as long as they were within the time restrictions being enforced. Many pole vault safety activists voiced their stern objection to this rule, knowing that thisrule would greatly increase the risk for injury.  The rationale of safety activists is simple, if a high school pole vaulter leaves the ground and can’t make it beyond the plane of the box, by hurriedly scampering back down the runway and trying the attempt again, the next attempt is almost always going to result like the first.  At this point, the rule has now doubled the chances of the vaulter being injured.

The new rule states: “It is a foul if the vaulter leaves the ground in an attempt and fails to clear the crossbar.
•Exception:  The competitor aborts the approach and in stopping, plants the pole and momentum causes his/her feet to leave the ground
•The vaulter may stop the approach and have the opportunity to restart the approach within the allotted time for the trial”

The new rule with the exception clearly laid out, exemplifies what the NFHS has intended all along.  The original rule, before the 2008 revision, stated the same thing the 2009 rule stated, without the exception.  The exception gives the vaulter a chance to stop and not be penalized because their momentum caused both feet to come off the ground.  This rule clearly states the vaulter must be aborting the approach.  This is a decision that must be made by the official in charge of the pole vault.

I support and applaud the NFHS in their continuing efforts to make pole vaulting as safe as possible.  They realized that a mistake was made in the rule and changed it for the following year.  Vaulters and their coaches and parents should be aware of all pole vaulting rules and any changes that occur from year to year.  If you do not have a copy, please get a copy of the NFHS rules book.

Myth: If a vaulter bobbles a crossbar and runs off the pit, it counts as a clearance as long as the vaulter has exited the pit before the bar falls down.Attention pole vaulters, coaches, and parents: If you run off the pit and the bar falls down – IT’S A MISS! I can’t count the number of times that I attend high school meets and inevitably, a vaulter scrambles to run off the pit because they heard that it would count as long as they were off the pit. All this does is put the vaulter at risk of rolling their ankle or possibly even worse. The rule states that the crossbar must steady itself. If a vaulter or their pole comes into contact with the bar and the bar is wobbling, the best thing to do is lay down in the pit and wait for the official to declare a make. If the bar falls down, then you know you have a miss on the scorecard. This myth is definitely BUSTED!