Author Archives: dahlman2017

In Any Language They say the Intuit language (Eskimo) has dozens of words for what in English we call snow.  That makes a lot of sense.  Snow has a prime impact on their lives, near or above the Arctic Circle.  It even has an impact here.  Better to shovel “powder” than “slush”.   But in my “side-profession” of track officiating,Continue reading “Blue Sky Rain”

NFHS – Track and Field Rule 6, Section 8, Article 15 – The competitors weight shall be at or below the manufacturer’s pole rating.  The manufacturer must include on each pole:  the pole rating that shall be a minimum of ¾ inch in a contrasting color located within or above the top hand-hold position:  a 1-inch circular band indicatingContinue reading “Pole Labels”

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, orContinue reading “Ethics and the Pole Vault Coach”

Yesterday was my first outdoor dual for the 2026 season. Because it’s easy to forget, here’s my pre-meet checklist, after I arrive “on the scene” at the starter/referee (only) official. I planned on arriving 90 minutes before the published start time. As it was across town, I gave myself an hour to get there. ButContinue reading “A Dual Meet Checklist”

Why Weight? There’s a lot of recent social media commentary about the pole vault weight rule.  Here’s an explanation of how we got the rule, and why it’s still important today. Since the mid-1990’s, school and youth pole vaulting have been governed by “the weight rule”.  It’s simple:  poles are rated by the manufacturer for a vaulter lessContinue reading “The Weight Rule”