By Staff
Athletic Management, 16.3, April/May 2004, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/am/am1603/wupolevault.htm
As track and field officials continue to address equipment standards in efforts to make pole vault safer, many are also turning their attention to another approach: coaching education and certification. Advocates say that changing equipment standards, while beneficial and needed, isn’t the full solution—properly trained coaches are crucial in protecting student-athletes.
The Pole Vault Safety Certification Board (PVSCB) offers coaches a Web-based course on pole vaulting that includes sections on NFHS rules, safety, the physics of pole vaulting, and basic pole vaulting progressions. After passing tests on each of the sections, coaches are certified for two years. There is a $19.95 fee charged to take the course and the tests.
"We’ve certified over 1,000 coaches since January 2002, and we want every school that offers pole vault to have someone there who has passed this test," says Jan Johnson, PVSCB creator and Pole Vault Safety Chair for USA Track and Field.
Most of the work on equipment now focuses on establishing standards for helmets and pole ratings. Although four states (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) require high school vaulters to wear helmets, no helmet has been approved specifically for pole vaulting. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has recommended that vaulters use approved skateboarding and lacrosse helmets (without the mask and visor) while it develops specific standards for a pole vault helmet. A separate ASTM committee is working to establish standards for setting pole weight ratings.
For more information go to:
www.pvscb.com
www.skyjumpers.com
www.polevault.com
www.polevaulteducation.org
To read a 2002 article about helmets and larger landing pits from Athletic Management, go to www.athleticsearch.com and type "pole vault" in the search window.