1) Our school has a few old aluminum poles. Surely these things are 30+ years old? I am assuming these are safe for learning the basics with a straight pole. Thoughts?
So those aluminum poles are at least sixty years-old. Even when I was in high school in Cincinnati in the early 70’s, those type were already collecting dust in the “shed”. The vaulters all had black Catapoles back then!!! The only reason for concern I can think of, is the impact on the bottom of the box when planting. While I was coaching at Watkins HS I had an aluminum pole (and a bamboo pole), and occasionally we’d pull them out and straight pole with them. As long as your box is fully set in concrete, not a problem. But if your box isn’t completely encased (hollow underneath or set in gravel) I’d worry about denting the box!! Other than that, put them to use!!!
2) We have a few poles that look good upon inspection. No cracks, no dents, no abnormal bends, readable labels and weight stickers, etc. They are from the 2001-2005 period, but likely have been sitting (horizontal on adequate shelving) for more years than they have been used. What are your thoughts on using these poles?
As far as “old” fiberglass poles are concerned: as long as you can’t find any deep scratches in them, particularly on the outside of the bend, they should be OK. The High School where I coached is still using the old Pacers I bought in the late 1980’s (I later purchased weight labels for them), as well as all the Spirit Poles I bought. The Spirit 14/135 is the oldest in the collection, with a “born date” in 1994. So age isn’t really the issue.
3) I am assuming that any pole in which I cannot identify a model number from the manufacturer (even if there is a weight limit sticker) is not legal even if it seems to be in good condition. Am I correct?
I would consider the poles with legal weight stickers, even if you can’t find the “etchings”. Again, that’s if, on inspection, you can’t find any issues, and they have legal weight bands. From an officiating perspective, the rules ONLY allow us to look for a legal weight band . Officials ARE NOT allowed to look for the “etchings” or other pole information, by rule (NFHS 6-15 note 1, that’s a long story, by the way). So those poles are still “legal” from an officiating perspective.
All poles are a crap-shoot. But there’s no “expiration date” on poles, no set number of vaults when they are worn out. If they look good, and they are legal, and they have a pole tip, you can use them. Every pole might break – mostly due to the action of the vaulter, but sometimes from bruises or scratches you can’t see. In my experience there’s no “warning”, it’s good, then it’s “stubbies”.
“Stubbies” (short lengths of pole for drill purposes – about 42” or so) are a great re-purpose of poles that you don’t trust to vault on. I made sure each of my vaulters had their own stubby to use for “homework”. There’s a whole video/section on the webpage on stubby drills that I think really help.
4) Transporting poles. Based on the equipment room, I am assuming that past coaches have used pvc pipe to protect some of our poles during transport. Is this common, and would you recommend it? I imagine a pole bag is best.
I transported poles in 6” diameter corrugated drain pipe (not flexible, and not perforated). It was great keeping poles dry during spring track meets, protected them from getting scratched, was easier to “haul”, with the kids and on top of my SUV or on the floor of the bus, and gave the kids a place to sit during the meet. The pole bags look better, but I don’t think provided as much protection. (Just checked prices – drain pipe costs are crazy high. About what you’d pay for a pole bag, so no longer a cost savings!!)
5) And lastly, there are some poles that look otherwise good, but I am fairly confident that someone cut a few inches off the end of the grip end of the pole (probably with a circular saw by the looks of it). I would not want an athlete to jump with these, but is there any utility to a pole like this (if the rest of the pole looks okay) in terms of practicing with a straight pole? Should I just trash the pole to prevent others from using it?
Cut poles are always an issue. And we did cut poles back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. First of all a “cut pole” is no longer as “intended by the manufacturer”, so for competition is technically illegal. There are very few officials who would recognize one, but there’s that issue. We used to “cut” poles for two reasons: either the very bottom or very top got damaged, and the rest of the pole was OK, or we were trying to “create” a pole we didn’t have. (This was in the pre-weight band era). For example, I had a 14’ vaulter who was short, and couldn’t get the plant angle to get on a fifteen foot pole. At the time, no one was marketing a 14’6 pole (14’7, I was a UCS Spirit guy). So I took a 15’1” pole, and took 6” off of the bottom to make it a 14’7”, nine pounds stiffer, with a lower sail piece but usable with the lower plant angle.
But in the weight band era, that pole was definitely “stiffer” than the weight band indicated, and technically illegal. And there’s the issue of the sail piece location now that the pole was cut.
Cutting the top off of the pole was because it was cracking at the top, usually from striking the crossbar. While that doesn’t alter the weight/sail piece issue, it does make the pole technically “illegal” for competition. Again, if it has a weight band on it (and for Spirit poles, that weight band is 6” from the top of the pole) it would usually “pass” inspection.
So that’s a long answer for a simple question. If the pole is intact, I guess you could use it for practice and stuff. But once you start using it as a pole in competition, it’s “vulnerable” to getting disqualified. And, and here’s the “legal” thing: (NFHS Rule 6-16 Note – “Altering the pole in any fashion renders it illegal”). If you know (or I know as the official) that the pole has been altered from the “intended manufactured use” that increases our legal liability if something bad happens. Even if it has nothing to do with the facts of the incident, in court we’d have to explain why we allowed a pole, not “legal” by NFHS rules, to be used. That’s always something to consider.
Ohio Pole Vault Safety 