Pole vault coaches often think they are faced with a dilemma. They know what their vaulter weighs. They know that the vaulter can’t vault “the pole” of that flex. And many coaches make this a “binary choice”: do I let the kid vault on a pole he/she can use, and “lie” about their weight, or do I put them on a pole too stiff for their ability.
It all seems like the coach should “err” on the side of letting the kid use a pole that’s under-weight for them. After all, that way they can vault. But, of course, the coach will have to “lie” on the paperwork to make the kid “legal” for that pole. Or, even worse, the coach might “doctor” the label to make the pole seem “legal”. Either way, a kid sees that the coach is lying, breaking the rules. And even if the coach is “doing it for them”, the lesson they are teaching is that the “rules” don’t apply to them or their kids. And that’s not even considering the legal liability the coach assumes by “taking the rules in their own hands”.
But, ethically, a coach can’t put a kid on a pole they know the athlete can’t vault. That’s cruel, and dangerous, and “malpractice” at the highest level.
The mistake is to make this a binary choice. There’s always a third option: find a shorter pole that the athlete can vault that’s “legal”, weighted above the kid’s weight. Sure, the athlete might go higher on the “illegal” pole, but the real point is that if a vaulter can’t use a pole rated above their weight – then the COACH has failed to get them there. If the vaulter needs to be on a shorter pole, to improve their speed, strength, technique – then that’s the “legal”, and ethical solution.
(And for the coach who says – well they can’t BEND the stiffer/shorter pole: bending is the result of better speed, strength and technique – things you need to coach. It’s not about finding a “softer” pole that’s easier to bend. Make the athlete a better vaulter!!).
Middle and High School Coaches (and vaulters) should stop “blaming” the weight rule, and do better. It’s not about “this archaic rule, that nobody likes or follows”. It’s about coaches (and athletes) doing their jobs. What’s my “proof”? Look at the “best” vaulters. Almost all of them are vaulting on poles rated fifteen or twenty or more pounds over their actual weight.
And that’s exactly what the “weight rule” in youth vaulting (Middle School, High School, USATF Youth Rules) is all about. It’s about getting coaches to make the “third” choice: a shorter, safer, pole, until the athlete is ready for the next step. It forces coaches to coach, rather than take potentially dangerous short cuts.
Need help with pole selection? Here’s a presentation about all that:
Ohio Pole Vault Safety 