VAULTER
MAGAZINE
2
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
contents
www.vaultermagazine.com
8
FROM THE EDITOR
4
All Things Pole Vault
8
the Difference Between the ACT and SAT
16
Sitting on top of the World!
22
How Women Changed the Vault
30
The Perfect Spike
38
16
6 28 Photo by Tyler Ingham
Photo by Bob Solorio
2015 vaulter magazine
3
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
FROM THE EDITOR Happy February, everyone! We hope all who went to the pole vault summit had a great time! We sure did and can’t wait for another great summit next year. This month we have some exciting articles for you.
Ever wonder when pole vaulting became a sport for women? Turns out it is a very young women’s sport. John Stypa tells you all the history of women pole vaulting. Wonder why pits are so big, heavy, and a pain to move? John covers that too and more in his article, so flip over a learn the history of your sport. ACT? SAT? Which one is better? What is the difference between the two? Penny Hanson breaks it all down for you. Turns out you can choose which test to take and Penny gives you all the details you need to know about both tests. She also gives you advice on how to prepare for either test. As always, Penny has great advice so flip over and learn which test is best for you.
Sadie Lovett tells you all about pole vault spikes and why they are so much better for you than sprint spikes. Jump on over to see what she, some coaches, and some athletes have to say.
There are two featured articles this month. First being Sacramento State. This track program has a great atmosphere for their 10 vaulters and a great new Mondo track for practice. The Sac State vaulters go to the pole vault summit every year and they host Stacy Ken and Betsy Lovett Dragila’s pole vault camp each summer for something to do as a team. every program should be! You This is a great school and you should take a look at this team. They have a great program. should check it out!
Our second featured article is the University of North Dakota. This school has a lot to offer their vaulters and under the Did you know there are pole leadership of Coach Silvers, they vault spikes? That’s right, there will go far! This vault crew does are actual spikes designed a lot of team activities to keep specifically for pole vaulting. their focus on fun, which is how
4
vaulter magazine 2015
As you all get adjusted back home from the pole vault summit, we thank you for all the fun and for continuing to stay with us! Until next month, good luck as your seasons are now underway!
Editor Doug Bouma editor@thevaultermag.com
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
2015 vaulter magazine
5
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
Danielle Brandon
6
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
2015 vaulter magazine
7
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
All Things Pole Vault By Sadie Lovett | Photos by Bob Solorio
Located in the beautiful city of Sacramento, California, the Sacramento State Hornets continue to train as the 2015 indoor season has already started. Pole Vault coach Daniel Isaacs is in his 13th year as a pole vault coach and his 3rd year at Sac State. Assisting Coach Isaacs is volunteer coach Lizzy Norvell along with the other five full-time staff and four volunteer coaches.
When it comes to recruiting, Coach Isaacs looks for men jumping at least 16 and women jumping at least 12. But the coaches like to look at and evaluate a broader spectrum of athlete according to Coach Isaacs: “absolute potential is
8
vaulter magazine 2015
also a big part of the recruiting criteria for potential student athletes.” Like many coaches, Coach Isaacs wants athletes who have potential to improve and be a great addition to the Hornet Track Team. Not only are the coaches looking for great athletes, they are also looking for great students, great teammates, and great represetitves of their program in the community. What is exciting for this track team is this last spring, Sac State resurfaced both the competition and practice tracks with a new Mondo 720 surface. Right after the track was resurfaced, in June, Sac State hosted the 2014 U.S.
Championships. And for all the vaulters who attended Stacy Dragila’s pole vault camp in July, you got to experience this great track first-hand because they host her camp as well: “We will continue that partnership this year and future years as well.” Because of this new surface, Sac State’s new track was awarded the U.S. Track of the Year for 2014 in December. Anyone who wants to see this award-winning track should take a trip out to Stacy Dragila’s camp and experience it for themselves! Leading up to the 2014 US Championship, along with the Sacramento Sports commission, this vault crew also puts on a street vault in historic Old Town
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com Siobhan Anderson
2015 vaulter magazine
9
VAULTER
MAGAZINE Miranda Dumas
Sacramento. These vaulters competed in an exhibition meet for the crowds with Stacy Dragila MCing the event. Coach Isaacs says, “She did a fantastic job helping promoting the US Chamoionship as well as our vault crew. We hope to make this an annual event as it was a huge success.”
Track-team expenses can be a lot and for some schools it is hard to travel such a large team to meets, but the Hornet Track Team has a great program to help with those expenses. The Sac State Track Team has a great program call the “Hornet Club,” which allows parents, alumni, and fans to support the team by donating money: “The Hornet Club is a major source of financial help to our program especially the vault program,” says Coach Isaacs. When it comes time to fly to meets or replace a broken pole, this team has the Hornet Club as back-up to help them take as many athletes as they can and keep their equipment up-todate so all their athletes have an opportunity to improve.
Head coach Kathleen Raske is very supportive of the pole vault program and this season they have a strong team of six women and four men. These 10 vaulters have enough
10
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
equipment to have a successful season. They are able to train on a high bar, rings, a rope, p-bars, and an inversion cable. They also have a great selection of poles and two USC pits for more effective practices: “With having two tracks we are able to take advatage of the multidirectional runways with the ability to run north, south, east, or west.” Sac State is a member of the very competitive Big Sky conference: “At the conference level, we have a really great history in the vault with Idaho State and Eastern Washington being our biggest competition. Also, newly added Idaho brings a strong presence in the vault
David Bean
to the Big Sy conference this upcoming season,” says Coach Isaacs. With a pole vault group of 10, the Hornets should be a force to be reckoned with come conference time. Suiting up for the Hornets this season are seniors and team captains Kyle Fraley and Molly Pearlman. These two seniors will lead the way for the rest of the vault crew including top men’s vaulter Steven Pust with a PR of 5m (16’4 ¾) and top women’s vaulter Miranda Dumas with a PR of 3.81m (12’6). The team also has strong freshman vaulters: Danielle Brandon who has a PR of 12’3, Ryan Pust with a PR of 16’7 and David Bean with a PR of 16’. “Hayley Carbullido, Siobhan Anderson, and Anna Jensen are not far behind on the women’s side all having personal bests of 11’11.75 or better,” Coach Isaacs tells us. The Hornet vault crew starts their season in the fall during the second week of school. Their training is like any other school, which prepares them for indoor season and continues through the outdoor championship. During the off-season, the Hornet vaulters are encouraged to recover from the long and stressful season. Resting like this will help
Kyle Fraley
them stay healthy and be ready to go once school begins in the fall. Coach Isaacs has his vaulters focus on speed training and lifting workouts and has them take a step back from pole vault. The men’s pole vault record holder is Dan Imlach with a jump of 17’6 1/2: “Dan was a multiple time BSC Champion Indoors and Outdoors as well as a multiple time NCAA Qualifier,” says Coach Isaacs. Lizzy Norvell, the volunteer pole vault coach, holds the women’s school record at 13’5 ¾. Like Dan, Lizzy was a multiple time BSC Champion and an NCAA Qualifier. Lizzy is also a post collegiate
2015 vaulter magazine
11
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
vaulter. Along with being a volunteer coach, Lizzy continues to train at Sac State with a PR of 4.20m (13’9 ¼). Another alumni on the top-ten all-time list with 16’ at Sac State is Curt Roth. According to Coach Isaacs, Curt coached his son Scott Roth over 17’5 in high school and is one of the top high school coaches in the Sacramento area. Something the Hornet vault crew does every year is they attend the Reno Pole Vault Summit. Coach Isaacs says, “It’s a good trip and event for our vaulters to immerse themselves in all things pole vault.” As a team, the Sac State vaulters also help at Stacy Dragila’s camp as camp counselors during their summer break. This year Coach Isaacs was asked to be a part of the National Coaching Staff for the 2015 Pole Vault Summit: “Which was a great honor and experience.” Along with the rest of the team, the athletes are brought back in early January, two weeks before school starts, for training camp. Coach Isaacs says, “We are able to use those two weeks to bring in quest speakers who cover many topics from sports phsyc, nutrition, training, to motivational and inspirational.” This year the team was fortunate enough to have Sacramento Mayor and former NBA great Kevin Johnson speak to them.
Anna Jensen
If anyone loves the Pole Vault Summit and wants to go every year, then look into Sac State. As a Hornet vaulter, you will have the support of many coaches, have the opportunity to compete at the Summit, and work with elite vaulters! Doors will open for you at Sac State as they have for this season’s Hornet vaulters!
Hayley Carbullido
12
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
2015 vaulter magazine
13
VAULTER
MAGAZINE Molly Rose Pearlman
14
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com Miranda Dumas
2015 vaulter magazine
15
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
What’s the Difference Between the ACT and SAT? Penny Hanson
ACT vs SAT: which test is a better fit for your student? Students may take whichever test they prefer (assuming there are available testing locations for both tests). If you’re not sure which test your child would prefer, consider the key differences between the ACT and SAT. Some students find that the ACT caters to their strengths more so than the SAT and vice versa. Simply stated, the ACT is an achievement test measuring what a student has learned in school. The SAT is more of an aptitude test, testing reasoning and verbal abilities. The ACT has 5 components: Eng-
16
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
lish, Mathematics, Reading, Science, and an optional Writing Test. The SAT has 10 components: 3 Critical Reading, 3 Math, 3 Writing and 1 Experimental which is unscored.
All colleges will take either test so you can decide which one you prefer. Students always need to add the “optional” writing component of the ACT when they register for the test. Even though they do not consider it, almost all colleges require the writing portion of the ACT. The majority of students will take their first test in June of their junior year. (Extra time is allowed for students who qualify. These arrangements must be made through your high school counselor well in advance of the test date). I recommend that if a student is interested in trying both of the tests, it is best to start in the spring of junior year. Once you have a baseline score, you will know what areas you need to improve upon. To prepare for the ACT and SAT, you can purchase test prep books, take practice tests online or enroll in a test prep course. Many companies and individuals offer test prep courses. Sometimes these are group courses and sometimes they are individual meetings
tailored to the student’s exact needs. If a student has taken one test and knows that he/ she needs to improve their math score, I recommend a private math tutor. It is not money well spent to enroll in a group class in this situation. However, if a student has not taken a test yet, a group class can be very helpful to learn test taking techniques and strategies. Yes, there are strategies to these standardized tests! Here is one example of the strategies students may want to employ when taking the ACT or SAT tests: www.petersons.com/college-search/ act-scores-tips-strategies.aspx
Juniors need to be thinking about registering for the spring tests. Registration deadlines are generally 6 weeks prior to the test date. Students can Test Structure and Format
Length Structure
pay a late fee to register after the deadline up until 3 weeks prior to the test. The cost for the ACT test plus writing is $54.50. This includes sending of test score reports to 4 colleges. You will pay an extra fee to send reports to more than 4 schools. Register for the ACT test on the ACT website: www. act.org
The cost for the SAT test is $52.50 and also includes score reports sent to 4 schools. Some colleges will require SAT Subject tests. These tests are used for both admissions and placement purposes. Register for all of these tests on the SAT website: www.collegeboard.org This chart from Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com) shows the side by side comparisons of each test:
ACT
SAT
3 hours, 25 min (with Writing Test) 4 Sections (English, Math, Reading, Science) plus an optional Writing Test
3 hours, 45 minutes
10 Sections (3 Critical Reading, 3 Math, 3 Writing, and 1 Experimental, which is unscored)
2015 vaulter magazine
17
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
Scoring
ACT
Score
SAT
Wrong Answer Penalty
Composite of 1-36 based on average scores from the 4 test sections 4 scores of 1-36 for each test Optional Writing Test score of 0-12 (not included in the overall score)
No penalty for wrong answers
Total score range of 600-2400 based on adding scores from 3 subjects 3 scores of 200-800 for each subject Score of 0-12 for the Essay
Sending Score History
You decide which score is sent
You decide which score is sent*
Âź point subtracted from your raw score for each wrong answer (except for Math Grid-Ins)
*Some colleges require you to send all scores, check with the college to be sure
Content ACT
SAT
Reading Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension Sentence Completions
Math
Science
Essay
18
Arithmetic Algebra Geometry Algebra II Trigonometry
Analysis Interpretation Evaluation Basic Content Problem Solving
Optional Final Section 30 Minutes Not Included in Composite Score Topic of importance to high school students
vaulter magazine 2015
Arithmetic Algebra Geometry Algebra II
Not applicable First Section 25 Minutes Factored into overall score More abstract topic
Regardless of which test you take, you always need to be well prepared! These scores count and you want to do your very best each time that you sit for one. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Good luck to all of you! Penny Hanson Hanson College Consultants penny@hansoncollegeaccess. com 720-883-6800
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
2015 vaulter magazine
19
VAULTER
Coach Joe Silvers, Jordan Fisk, Erin Harris, Tyler Colling, Hailey Brinkman, Matt Harris, Coach Kohl Koppinger. Taken in Memorial MAGAZINE Stadium with High Performance Center construction in the background. Photo by Tyler Ingham
20
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
2015 vaulter magazine
21
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
Sitting on top of the World! By: Sadie Lovett
Located in the city of Grand Forks along the Red River, The University of North Dakota is the northern most fullyfledged NCAA Division 1 program in the United States.
Assistant track and field coach for the jumps group and multi-event athletes, Joe Silvers begins the 2014/2015 season as his sixth season as an NCAA D1 coach. Having finished his college eligibility in 2009 and starting his coaching career that same year, Coach Silvers has had many very successful seasons. From school records to USA Jr. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Coach Silvers has coached it all. His coaching career began at Idaho State University where he went to college. He coached at Idaho State for two years (2009-2011) under coach Dave Nielsen’s direction. For
22
vaulter magazine 2015
those two years, Coach Silvers worked with multi-event athletes and was the assistant vault coach. Along with coaching at Idaho State, Coach Silvers also organized the Pocatello Street Vault (2009), coached at the Simplot Games Track Camp (2008-2011), and held a winter pole vault clinic alongside Paul Litchfield (2010).
If that is not enough of a career, Coach Silvers’ success as a coach took off when he accepted his current coaching position as jumps, multievents, and pole vault coach at UND in 2011. In his first season at UND (2011/2012), Coach Silvers had four Great West Conference Champions in women’s indoor and outdoor pole vault, men’s outdoor pole vault, and women’s triple jump, and 13 All-Conference
performances. Coach Silvers’ achievements as a coach only start here. His second season (2012/2013), Coach Silvers trained many of his athletes to success as he had broken records in the men’s outdoor heptathlon and men’s outdoor pole vault. The achievements continue! In 2013, Coach Silvers qualified a men’s triple jumper to the NCAA West Regionals and on to the USA Jr. Outdoor Track and Field Championships where his athlete gained USTFCCCA AllAcademic and USA Track and
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
Field All-American honors— what a way to end that season! But, his accomplishments as a coach are still not over! In 2014, Coach Silvers had a men’s triple jumper qualify and finish 3rd at the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships. He also coached pole vaulter Tyler Colling who broke two school records that season: “Tyler set the current record of 5m (16’4 ¾) at the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships where he finished 3rd in a field that boasted six vaulters over the 5m mark.” With all of these
coaching accomplishments, Coach Silvers got a USATF Level 1 coaches certification in 2010 and 2012. He also has a Jumping Event Specialist certification from the USTFCCCA’s Track and Field Academy. And if all that wasn’t enough, Coach Silvers has been published in the USTFCCCA’s publication Techniques. Here is the citation for his publication if anyone wants to take a look: Silvers, J., &Appleby, K.M. (2013) Mental training for track and field. Techniques for Track and Field and Cross Country, 6(3), 42-47.
The coaching staff for this season includes four full-time coaches (distance, sprints, throws, jumps). This year the team has a volunteerstudent assistant, Kohl Koppinger. Koppinger has recently finished his pole vault eligibility at UND and will be helping Coach Silvers in the pole vault this season.
UND has quite the competition in their conference this season. Coach Silvers says that UND is considered to be a mid-major conference,
Harris, Matt at UNC Wilmington Seahawk Invitational. Wilmingtion, NC 2012
2015 vaulter magazine
23
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
but this NCAA D1 school is anything but mid-major when it comes to track and field. There is a lot of talent in the Big Sky Conference. “Northern Arizona, Southern Utah, and Weber State make a big push in the distance events. Schools such as Montana, Montana State, Idaho State, and Eastern Washington create depth in the pole vault and other field events. While Sacramento State, Portland State, and Northern Colorado help bring up the talent level in the sprinting events,” says Coach Silvers. What is exciting for UND track and field is the
Kohl Koppinger
24
vaulter magazine 2015
new indoor practice and competition facility for both the track team and the football team, which is planned to be finished Spring 2015. The new facility will have a 300m 8 lane Mondo track with football turf in the middle. The weight and hammer area and portable shot-put circles will be located at south end of the facility. At the north end, there will be three pole vault runways, two sandjump runways, a high-jump pit, and the ability to run a 100m race indoors. All this in one facility and there will be room to spare! The UND track team will be able to host large indoor meets and have great practices with this facility. This season, UND has three men vaulters and two women vaulters. For the men, one is a Great West Conference Outdoor Pole Vault Champion, one is the former school record holder, and the other, Tyler Colling, currently jumps the highest and has the school record at 5m: “this year should be pretty exciting watching these three battle each other for the indoor and outdoor school records.” His women vaulters are younger. Erin Harris is a freshman who has the higher mark at 10’6 and the other woman vaulter is a junior who just recently started pole vaulting because she did
gymnastics in high school. “The maximum number of vaulters that I would ideally like to have on our team is six men and six women. This is a great number to give depth to the team, training partners,
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
Kohl Koppinger
and not limit the quality of the athletes practice and oneon-one coaching time,” says Coach Silvers. The leader of the vault groups is Jordan Fisk as team captain.
For these five vaulters, UND has provided them with all the pole vault equipment they need to be the best they can be. “Our program uses UCS Spirits for poles and has come close to 100 poles in our inventory,”
Coach Silvers says. Because gymnastics is so important to pole vault, the vaulters also have access to a trampoline and gymnastics floor that they share with the diving team, and they have their own high
2015 vaulter magazine
25
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
bar, rings, bubka machine, slide boxes, and a video feed to practice with.
During the summer and offseason, the UND vault group is given some general workouts and weight training so they are prepared for the season once school starts. Like any other track team, the pole vault group starts their practices the second week into the school year, which is usually around the 1st of September. “Our preseason begins with our base training,” Coach Silvers says. For the first eight weeks, the vault group does base training that includes plyometric training, repeats, some speed work, weights, and optional gymnastics practice. When October comes around, they start their technique training: “This time of year is when we start with a lot of approach work, drills, short approach vaults, and work our way back to full approach as time moves on.” UND’s first meet of the year is in December right before winter break. Once they are back from break, the team starts their indoor season right away. During this time, the vault crew is refining changes and new technique that was introduced before break. “By the end of the indoor season, everything should be pretty well set,” says Coach Silvers. Outdoor season
26
vaulter magazine 2015
for UND begins in March with a spring-break trip. Coach Silvers says, “For technique we iron out any kinks or changes that need to be made from indoor and as the outdoor season progresses, we get everything smoothed out and autopilot functioning for the outdoor championships.” For anyone interested in becoming a Fighting Sioux, Coach Silvers tells you how you can do that. He says, “The
Big Sky Conference has a lot of depth when it comes to the men’s and women’s pole vault.” There are great track programs UND’s conference like Idaho State, Eastern Washington, Montana, Montana State, and now University of Idaho. He says that the past few years it has taken 4.70m (15’5) for men and 3.66m (12’) for women to get a conference point in pole vault. “At UND, we are a point oriented program.
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
Matt Harris
Meaning our main goal is to score points at the conference championship” says Coach Silvers. But that’s if you want to make the conference team. Coach Silvers says that they are very welcome to walk-ons and they like to give athletes the opportunity to show their potential to the coaches. If you want to be recruited to UND, Coach Silvers looks for men jumping 15’ and women jumping 11’: “I will seek out
and recruit vaulters who have met this mark and will also recruit those who haven’t, but are close.” Coach Silvers also likes to get to know the vaulters he is recruiting. He likes to know more about them rather than just the PR mark on paper: “I’m always interested in finding out more about the history of the athlete, what has their training been like, how long have they been vaulting, what kind of speed do they have, etc. If I have seen in person the individual vault then I may toss the height guideline right out the window depending on what I see.” To get an athletic scholarship, Coach Silvers says he and the other coaches look at academics, community involvement, and other sports played: “If you want to pole vault at UND, you are more than welcome.”
UND has had some great pole vaulters in the program. There have been two AllAmericans. Jessica Clausnitzer came into the track program jumping 11’3 from high school and when she graduated, she had a PR of 12’9. Clausnitzer is still the indoor and outdoor women’s pole vault record holder. Kate Laroche is another pole vaulter who had great improvements. Coming in with a PR of 11’6, Laroche finished her career with a PR
of 12’5. “Overall, nearly 100% of both men’s and women’s vaulters who have come into the program, have experienced significant improvements from their high school PRs,” Coach Silvers tells us. There is not success in only the vault group, but the overall track team has had two individual National Champions and over 70 AllAmericans for the women, and seven individual National Championships and over 25 All-American awards for the men. They also have some noteworthy alumni athletes. Heidi (Evens) Greenwood who was a 2008 National Champion in the 1500, has qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon. Also, Lisbeth
Tyler Colling and Coach Silvers
2015 vaulter magazine
27
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
Pederson who started track at UND as a junior, continued her career after college and won the Norwegian National Championships in the 800 and the 1500 and she was awarded her country’s Championship Athlete of the Year. Like any other crazy vault crew, the UND vaulters try to keep the stress low and the focus on fun high. Coach Silvers has many activities and meets lined up for his athletes. Every other year they travel to the Reno Pole
Vault Summit. For spring break, they take a 10-day trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. During this trip, the team does a lot of activities, dinners, movies, and game nights. They take a four-day trip to California for Mt. Sac, Bryan Clay Invitational, and Long Beach Invitational as well. They also like to stay connected during the school year by having monthly team activities such as BBQs, bowling, or award banquets. Coach Silvers tells us, “We’ve got some pretty big personalities on the team and
practice can get a little crazy at times, but it’s all fun. Overall, we try to keep the mood light and fun. We want to work hard and achieve our goals and make sure we are having fun along the way.”
Keeping the focus on fun will definitely keep the vaulters’ stress level down, which will open doors to new PRs. And with Coach Silvers’ coaching background and ability, the University of North Dakota vaulters will no doubt have a successful pole vault season! Tyler Colling
28
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
2015 vaulter magazine
29
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
How Women Changed the Vault By: John Stypa
Introduction The pole vault event in track and field has traditionally been dominated by men throughout the course of modern competitive history with significant social barriers in place, which precluded women from the event. As a result the vaulting equipment industry was tailored toward men vaulters. Vaulting poles and safety equipment selection was rather limited. While technological advances have occurred in the event with the introduction of fiber glass poles in the 1960’s1 and specialized landing pits in the early 1970’s 2, the equipment industry remained largely unchanged throughout that period. Social barriers started being challenged in the 1980’s, and by 1992 the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ratified the women’s pole vault as an official track and field event. It
30
vaulter magazine 2015
was subsequently included in the European Championships in 1998 and the Olympic Games in 2000 (Dupy, March 2010). “The event grew at a tremendous rate when women started vaulting. There was a big explosion in the 1990s” (Dosher, 2013). Demand for equipment and knowledge expanded significantly to supply this new market demographic whose demand needs dynamically changed as technical proficiency was gained. Athlete demand
When the IAAF ratified the women’s pole vault as an official event, there was a large draw for women athletes to compete in the event. A vacuum of talent was essentially created due to the events governing body sanctioning women to be included in the sport. This vacuum created a significant opportunity for women that wasn’t previously available and interest in the event increased
significantly. “As soon as the social barrier drops, the disutility to specialize in these disciplines vanishes. This induces a change in the distribution of women over disciplines. Moreover, new generations of women will invest more in developing human capital specific to these disciplines which will lead each new generation of women selecting into these disciplines to have more human capital than previous generations and hence higher performance” (Dupy, March 2010). Athlete demand was enhanced through what can be described as advertising with the use of celebrity figures in the industry. “Stacy Dragila made a huge impact on the woman’s vault. Her presence increased interest and commercial exposure in the women’s vault” (Blank, 2013).
She won the gold medal at the Olympics in 2000 in the event—the first year it was in-
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
cluded. As a result of her success in drawing interest to the event, the women’s pole vault was catapulted to prominence. At the Millrose Games in 2000, “track veterans were stunned when organizers unceremoniously bumped the men’s pole vault from its traditional spot in prime time and replaced it with track and field’s hottest event: the women’s pole vault” (Donnelly, 2001). This form of commercial advertising clearly targeted the niche population of women pole vaulters and helped increase exposure of the event. “For the [sic] Pole vault, the implied year T=0 is 1981 or 11 years before the discipline was ratified by the IAAF and 15 (19) years before the event was organized at the EC (OG respectively) for the first time.” This suggests, that demand for the women’s pole vault became saturated in 2014 and has leveled out at that point (Dupy, March 2010).
Kat Majester
Pole demand
Demand for poles from women vaulters overwhelmed the supply of poles that were available on the market at the time. This new demographic of users required products that didn’t exist at the time in order to become proficient in the event. Prior to women’s introduction to the event, poles were typically no shorter than 14 or 15 feet and pole stiffness ratings
2015 vaulter magazine
31
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
were rudimentary at best. “The thing that changed is the length of the poles. Woman’s vaulting expanded availability of selection” (Blank, 2013).
After women began vaulting, manufacturers started specifically targeting them with specialty brands that were tailored for the needs of women vaulters. MF Athletic manufactures a brand called the “Lady Rocket,” which is exclusively marketed for women. Gill also produces a brand that is marketed for women. It is currently called the Pacer “Mystic.” This however was rebranded recently from its original name, “Ms. Stick” and it is available in a hot pink color. Gill makes another pole, the “Skypole E-Z plant,” which is also marketed for women and novice vaulters. Altius, another pole manufacturer makes the “Carbon Elite Pink,” which is marketed to advanced women vaulters.3
Poles are now available in lengths as short as eight feet and increase in somewhat customized incremental lengths. Before the introduction of women to vaulting, 14 feet was the shortest length available and foot long increments were the only available size differences. They are also much softer now, which is the result of demand from women vaulters. Women often require poles to be softer to allow
32
vaulter magazine 2015
them greater ability to bend and learn technique. This has placed significant pressure on the pole industry to standardize flex rating on poles and as a result, the weight rating for poles has expanded tremendously. Where previously, poles were available with only a relatively stiff flex, they are now available in a wide
range of flex ratings to accommodate many vaulters weights. This has resulted in an expansive selection of poles in sizes from eight to over 17 feet long and rated for vaulters weighing from a range of 100-225 pounds. Pole companies use specialty branding to differentiate the Gabriella Lucchese Photo by Samantha Durham
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
selection across various groups within the niche market. Novice and women vaulters typically will use shorter and softer poles and these poles are grouped into brands specifically targeted to this group. Intermediate vaulters will use stiffer and longer poles, which are branded differently to target intermediate vaulters. The advanced vaulters also have their class of poles and differentiating carbon-fiber technology is used in many of them with specific branding to differentiate them. All these poles throughout the spectrum perform differently with respect to the skill level they are made for. When used in conjunction they provide a ladder of poles for an athlete to climb throughout his career from novice to advanced vaulter. “In effect, poles are now tailor made. From the packaging and presentation to the technical make up, it’s all changed” (Blank, 2013).
The prices for the higher end poles have not really changed throughout the years. They are relatively inelastic as the pole industry functions like an oligopoly with less than 10 firms competing in the market industry wide. However, with women transforming the pole industry and their demand being concentrated at the shorter softer end of the pole spectrum, prices for these products have decreased
as new brands were introduced to capture market share. Altius poles start out $175 for its low end poles; ESSX poles start at $275; Gill poles begin at $300. As length and stiffness increases, prices increase and all manufacturers’ prices begin to fall in line with respect to their product offering. The Cournot oligopoly model best describes the vaulting pole industry. There are only a few firms serving the entire industry. They produce roughly homogenous products that are differentiated through branding. The firms will hold their outputs constant even if other firms change their output levels. Also barriers of entry exist in the industry (Baye, 2010). Athletes tend to be fairly brand-loyal if given the opportunity while the typical customers for poles, high school districts, are price conscious. Because of these opposing forces between the end user, the athletes, and the typical customers, high school districts, pole manufacturers have no incentive to undercut competitors and prices are fairly uniform across the industry for comparable products. Safety Concerns
The pole vault has always been regarded as a dangerous activity and it does in fact have a higher incidence of injury than other sports. In a study done between 1982 and 1998,
32 catastrophic injuries were reported as a result of participating in the pole vault. Of these injuries, 16 resulted in fatalities and six in permanent disability. The study concluded with recommendations for implementing, “rule and equipment changes that may help reduce the occurrence of future injuries” (Boden, Pasquina, Johnson, & Mueller, 2001).
It has been documented that the incidence of injury in female athletes is higher than that of male athletes at the high school level. In a study, it was demonstrated that girls sustained more injuries than their male counterparts in both soccer and softball. It was also shown that knee injuries were greater in female basketball and soccer players (Powell & Barber-Foss, 2000). “Anatomic and physiologic variations have often been cited to explain the influence of gender on these differences” (Rebella, Edwards, Greene, Husen, & Brousseau, 2008). With women’s inclusion in the event and mainstream coverage growing as a result, the risks associated with the event received increased exposure. These risks violently collided with its new found prominence during a track meet in January 2001 at Eastern Washington University when a female vaulter was severely injured in
2015 vaulter magazine
33
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
a pole vaulting accident that put her in a coma for several months (Putnam, 2012).
Then in 2002, three fatalities occurred in the event; as a result in 2003, “both the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) enacted several rules, including increasing the minimum landing pad size and requiring additional padding to cover the gap between the landing pad and the plant box (Rebella, Edwards, Greene, Husen, & Brousseau, 2008). Rule 7, Section 5, Article 8-9, of the NFHS Rules defines the dimensions of the landing pads that high schools must adhere to in order to legally participate in the pole vault event. As a result of the rules, many schools became non-compliant and had to invest significant resources to bring their facilities into compliance with the rules. “New landing pads cost about $7,000” (Putnam, 2012). This rule change was a boom for vault pit manufacturers as schools scrambled to bring their facilities into compliance with the rules. “The real cost drivers were the safety concerns as a result of fatalities. There was a real threat of the vault being banned” (Blank, 2013).
34
vaulter magazine 2015
A follow-up study was conducted in 2011 to, “(1) identify the post-2003 rule change incidence and profile of catastrophic pole vaulting injuries through 2001 and compare them, where possible, with the prior incidence and profile and (2) determine, via a questionnaire, the frequency with which pole vaulters land in the vault box…The annual fatality rate fell from 1.0 in the prior study to 0.22 in the current study… the average annual rate of catastrophic injury from pole vaulters landing in the vault box has more than tripled over the past decade and remains a major problem” (Boden , Boden, Peter, Mueller, & Johnson, 2012). Knowledge demand
With the increased popularity of the vault and women’s inclusion in the event, knowledgeable coaches have come in higher demand. This is especially true due to the increased visibility to the safety risks associated with participating in the event. “The coach was the most frequent source of information for both technique and safety” (Rebella, Edwards, Greene, Husen, & Brousseau, 2008). As a result, several states have enforced certification policies, which require vaulting coaches to take a sanctioned pole vault certification training course.
The purpose is to assure the schools and athletes that coaches have been certified as meeting a certain set of minimum standards. This has resulted in enhanced knowledge of coaches and reduces the risk of injury from the event. One such certifying agency is the Pole Vault Safety Certification Board. Its mission states, “It is the primary purpose of Pole Vault Certification Safety Board to provide information and testing, for the education and certification of pole vaulters, and pole vault coaches, with special emphasis upon the teaching of the basic skills, progressions, and risk reduction in pole vaulting. In addition, it is the secondary goal of the Pole Vault Certification Safety Board to generate funding for the purpose of pole vault related research and development” (Polevault Safety Certification Board, 2013).
The cost for the certification course is $35 and the certification lasts for two years. This relatively small cost is borne on the individual coaches and there is no real profit motive from the certifying authority. Its main goal is to enhance the safety of the event and increase the commercial exposure in the responsible manner. In that way, all stakeholders benefit from a safer vaulting environment.
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com Allison Stokke
Conclusion When the IAAF ratified the women’s pole vault as an official track and field event in 1992, significant social barriers were diminished and women’s exposure to the event increased rapidly. Celebrity coverage, supplied when Stacy Dragila won the first Olympic gold medal in the women’s pole vault in 2000, acted to advertise the event and was a catalyst in increasing the events popularity. This caused a revolution in the vaulting pole industry, which previously had a very limited selection. As a result, new vaulting pole products became widely available at reduced prices to the longer stiffer poles that were previously available on the market and women’s and novice exposure to the event precipitated.
Bubba Sparks
The increased popularity of the pole vault drew attention to safety concerns that were present in the event. With more women and novice vaulters participating in the vault, injuries rose and in 2003, as a result of three fatalities from the previous year, sweeping rules changes were enacted to address safety concerns that had been formulating for years. These rule changes defined standards for vaulting landing pads and forced many participating schools to make significant capital investments to bring
2015 vaulter magazine
35
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
their facilities into compliance. As a result, the manufacturing firms that service the pole vaulting industry with landing pads and support equipment have benefitted greatly from the increased equipment demand and subsequent regulations that have been enacted as a result of safety concerns. Knowledgeable coaches have also come in higher demand and states are now requiring certification as a prerequisite for employment. These safety standards have resulted in a safer vaulting environment, but data indicates that improvement is still needed as injuries from landing in the vault box have been on the rise.
Increased demand and sweeping regulations from the inclusion of women to pole vaulting have revolutionized the event since the 1990s; its commercial success as the premier event in track and field has been demonstrated. Firms that service this industry have benefitted greatly from women’s inclusion in the vault and are
well positioned to capitalize on future changes that may occur in the event. Acknowledgments
I would like to personally thank Mr. Rod Dosher and Mr. Russ Blank whose extensive pole vault coaching experience at the High School level and competitive experience at the High School and Collegiate levels combine to extend over 50 years. Their contribution provided significant personal knowledge to the topic. References
Polevault Safety Certification Board. (2013, May 12). Retrieved from www. pvscb.com/Default.aspx
Baye, M. R. (2010). Managerial Economics and Business Strategy, 7th Ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Blank, R. (2013, May 10). Lake City High School Pole Vaulting Coach. (J. Stypa, Interviewer) Lewiston, Idaho, USA.
Boden , B. P., Boden, M. G., Peter, R. G., Mueller, F. O., & Johnson, J. E. (2012, July). Catastrophic injuries in pole
vaulters: A prospective 9-year followup study. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(7), 1488-1494.
Boden, B. P., Pasquina, P., Johnson, J., & Mueller, F. O. (2001). Catastrophic injuries in pole-vaulters. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 29(1), 5054. Donnelly, S. B. (2001). The Pioneer of The Pole Vault. Time, 158(9), 66.
Dosher, R. (2013, May 10). Sandpoint High School Pole Vaulting Coach. (J. Stypa, Interviewer) Lewiston, Idaho, USA. Dupy, A. (March 2010). An Economic Model of the Evolution of the Gender Performance Ratio in Individual Sports. Bonn, Germany: Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). Powell, J. W., & Barber-Foss, K. D. (2000). Sex-related injury patterns among selected high school sports. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 28(3), 385-391.
Putnam, B. (2012, March 12). The deadliest sport in America. St. Petersburg Times. Rebella, G. S., Edwards, J. O., Greene, J. J., Husen, M. T., & Brousseau, D. C. (2008). A Prospective Study of Injury Patterns in High School Pole Vaulters. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(5), 913-920.
The Sports Illustrated article, “He Could Do It On Bamboo” published February 26, 1962 by Tex Maule describes when fiberglass poles were first introduced www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1073557/1/index.htm
1
The UCS Spirit website describes how improved pole vaulting and high jump pits were developed and introduced www. ucsspirit.com/about/family-company.cfm
2 3
36
The following website provides a list of vaulting pole manufacturers www.usapolevaulting.org/manufacturers.htm
vaulter magazine 2015
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
Only Track & Field News can keep you fully informed about which athletes to watch, who’s hot and who’s not. We take you step-by-step, meet-by-meet, through the indoor season, outdoor conference championships, the domestic relay and invitational carnivals, the NCAAs, the U.S. Nationals, the Grand Prix events in Europe and of course the Olympics and World Championships. Each issue is packed with meet stories, performer lists and other useful stats, interviews and profiles of your favorite athletes, action photos galore, opinion columns and feature articles, and everything else you need to keep abreast of the total track scene. If high school track is your special interest, seven issues during the year carry prep top performer lists and reports. If you like track, you’ll LOVE Track & Field News. Call the toll-free number below today and we’ll start your subscription immediately.
sues)
igital is $38.95 yr. (12 d rint issues) $43.95 yr. (12 p sues) print + digital is 2 (1 r. y 5 .9 8 $4
K A R T T E G 0 1-80 /Amex Charge to Visa/UMSACTF members t to
Special discoun
Wri comp te for our le of tra te listing s ck and t books ours.
Track & Field News 2570 W El Camino Real, Suite 220 Mountain View, CA 94040 Phone 650/948-8188 Fax 650/948-9445
TRACK PERIODICALS • BOOKS • TOURS TO THE OLYMPICS, WORLDS, ETC.
2015 vaulter magazine
37
VAULTER
MAGAZINE
The Perfect Spike By: Sadie Lovett
There is so much that you have to put into pole vault: strength training, sprint workouts, drills, money, time, the list goes on. But aside from poles, pole vault spikes are a must. Pole vault spikes are different to other spikes: they have been designed specifically for pole vaulting. Nike has created the “jumps spike,” but they also have a pole vault spike.
This spike has a strong arch support to protect your feet at take-off. It has a padded heelcup that supports around your heel to, again, protect your feet at take-off. Sprint spikes don’t have this support. Coach Silvers of the University of North Dakota puts the importance of having a pole vault spike over a sprint spike into great words. He says, “A sprint spike is designed to be light weight, have a stiff and responsive spike plate, and suited for the toe running seen in sprinting. Jumping spikes are also designed for the sprinting mechanics, but also take into account the forces produced at the take-off of a jump.” Sprint spikes have low support in the heel because sprinters run on
38
vaulter magazine 2015
Jenn Suhr Spikes
their toes. The spikes are designed to put sprinters on their toes and work with that forward lean that Coach Silvers is talking about, and work with the use of the sprinters arms. Coach Silvers has a good way to explain the difference in the look of each spike. Place both shoes on a flat surface, “look at how much the toe curves upward as you move away from the heel. Comparing sprint spikes to jumping spike, the sprint spike will have the greatest heel-to-toe offset. This is because sprint spikes are designed to help keep the athlete up on their toes while running. Jumping spikes have less of a heel-to-toe offset due to the
jump being initiated by a flatfoot contact with a rolling motion as the athlete continues to move forward and over their toe producing lift.” Make sense? Coach Mike Cockerham of the Flying Dragons also points out to me the difference in the backs of the spike. See how low the back of heel on the sprint spike comes up on the back of the heel? See how much higher the pole vault spike comes up on the back of the heel? It comes up that much higher to protect your Achilles at take-off.
When Coach Silvers was in high school and once he started to improve in the pole vault, his
february 2015 issue
www.vaultermagazine.com
Adidas sprint spikes weren’t doing the trick anymore. Because of the lack of cushion, his spikes started to cause shin splints. Do you get those? Ever think that you could be getting them because you don’t have the right spikes? That’s not always the cause of those wonderful pains, but it would be worth looking into if you vault in sprint spikes. Coach Silvers tried Rebok’s Long Jump/Pole Vault Spikes, but once he found Nike Pole Vault Lite (PV2), he was hooked and several of his vaulters are hooked on them too. “They were lighter than my triple jump spikes and I was still able to fit my orthotics in them, therefore giving me the important support in which I need. In addition, they were the easiest to sprint in,” says vaulter Hailey Brinkman. Jordan Fisk says, “The PV2’s are by far my favorite out of the three (sprint spikes, triple jump spikes, and PV2) because they are very light, and provide good cushion, without absorbing too much energy.” Their teammate Matt Harris uses the PV 2 as well: “Once I switched to the PV2 I found that perfect balance of the two (sprint spike and Asics jump shoe). You have a shoe that has the lightness and responsiveness off the track like a sprint spike and the support of a jump shoe. It truly is a pole vault specific spike.” Yes, Nike created an amazing spike that many pole vault-
ers use including professionals. But everyone is different. I know some people who can’t wear Nike shoes because they hurt their feet or don’t fit right. That’s fine because other brands have created “Jump” spikes that still give you the support you need at take-off. What you should do is go into a sports store that will help you. I know that in the Bloominton, IL area there is a store called Often Running. In this store, the employees have been taught how to fit athletes for walking shoes, running shoes, sprint spikes, jump spikes, you name it, and they know how to fit you. Do some research and see what kind of stores you can find. You could go to a Dick’s Sporting Goods or a Scheels, but those employees are not eventspecifically trained to fit you for the perfect spike. Coach Silvers gives you a good list of what to look for when you go to look for your spikes. He says:
• Always choose a shoe designed for jumping events. Sprint/mid-distance/distance spike are not a good option. • Pick a shoe that is comfortable on your foot and provides good support. • Shoes with a mid-foot strap can provide a more stable feel and secure fit. • Choose a shoe with good heel padding (PV 2 or TJ spike) as
taking off under in the vault or reaching at takeoff can put a lot of pressure/stress through the heel. If you go to a good sports store, the employees will help you find a spike that will best suit you and give you all the qualities you want. Don’t feel weird if you want to try them out either. Run around the store, hop in place, do an in-place-pole-vault approach, anything to get the feel of the spikes and be sure that they are the ones for you.
Renaud Spikes
Picking out the best spike for you may be a tough decision. It’s hard to make a decision because you’re not sure what you want or what you need. You keep sending that employee who is helping you into the back room for a different pair of spikes time after time. But I assure you, when you find that spike, the one that just feels right, and you put away those sprint spikes, those spikes will change your pole vault career for the better and you will feel the difference when you run down the runway.
2015 vaulter magazine
39