USA Track and Field National Officials Committee Training Sub-committee

How to Set Up the Pole Vault

John Lilygren

Pacific Association

jlilygren@gmail.com

2011 USATF NATIONAL MEETING 1

Outline

• Safety

– Venue inspection and preparation

– Look around for the “Big Picture”

• Equipment Required

• Pole Vault Set-Up Procedure

– Marking crossbars and standard bases

– Aligning & Zeroing standards

• USATF Officials Website: Best Practices

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Safety is Job #1

• When officiating a Pole Vault competition, your number one concern must be the safety of the competitors

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Inspect around the pit • Cover hard surfaces such as concrete, metal,

wood or asphalt with a minimum of 2 inches of dense foam or other suitable material

• Remove movable objects such as hurdles

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For high school competitions, verify there is a box collar

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Inspect the Box & Landing Area

• Check the area around the box

– Remove debris & water from the box

– Verify adequate clearance for poles to the pads

• Verify that the pits are properly connected and the top cover is in place

• Observe the condition of the pit

• Verify the pins are the proper length – 55 mm for USATF & NCAA

– 76 mm for High School

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Observe the surroundings & anticipate problems you may encounter:

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Discus

High

Jump

Anticipate Potential Problems from adjacent events

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200m

start

4 x 100m

exchange zone

Read Shelby Sharpe’s “Track and Field Officials Liability – How to Avoid It”

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www.usatf.org/groups/officials/files/resources/meet-

management/Track-and-Field-Officials-Liability-How-to-Avoid-It.pdf

TRACK AND FIELD OFFICIAL’S LIABILITY – HOW TO AVOID IT By J. Shelby Sharpe

www.usatf.org/groups/officials/files/resources/meet-

management/Track-and-Field-Officials-Liability-How-to-Avoid-It.pdf

TRACK AND FIELD OFFICIAL’S LIABILITY – HOW TO AVOID IT By J. Shelby Sharpe

Necessary Equipment

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Check crossbar sag & mark crossbars

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Mark Crossbars (cont.)

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Underside of crossbar

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Mark 0 to 80 cm scale on bases

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Align standards with 0 line

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If there is no “0” line, stretch a bungee or crossbar between standards & …

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… align with the back of the box

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UCS Standards

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0.5 m

18

Pegs are 0.5 meter in

from upright part of standard

Pegs must be 4.30 – 4.37 m apart (For UCS standards, set uprights 5.30 – 5.37 m apart)

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Aligning & Zeroing Standards

• Goals:

– Standards are parallel to each other

– Standards are parallel to the runway

• Two methods:

– 2 Point Method

– Parallelogram Method

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2-Point Method

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• Put crossbar up

• Measure distance between standards at “0”

• Move standards to 80 & observe whether

crossbar moves.

• Is distance still the same as it was at 0?

• Problem: Can’t be sure standards are

parallel with runway

2-Point Method with Standards Rotated

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• D-F > C-E

• Which standard do you move?

• Can’t be sure standards will

track parallel to runway

Parallelogram Method

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Place 2 tacks 80 cm apart in center of runway (A & B)

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Measure distance from 1st tack to both standards at “0”

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Move standard to 80 & measure distance to 2nd tack

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Parallelogram Method guarantees standards track parallel to runway

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Repeat measurements for other standard

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Measure distance between standards at 0 & 80 to confirm they are equal

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Raise standard to ~15’ & hold 0 end of tape against bracket

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Check to see if standards are level & shim if necessary

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Move standards to 0, raise crossbar & check with plumb bob

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Check the Horizontal Plane

• Place a bar on the lowest peg at the lowest possible height and place a level on the middle of the bar if you can reach it.

• If you can’t reach it, stretch a string tautly between the standards at the same point on both scales and use a hanging level in the middle of the string.

• If the bar or string isn’t level, adjust the height on one standard until it is level and note the adjustment.

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Verify crossbar is level, measure height & record offsets

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Tape edges of standard bases to mark their position

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Put covers in place

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Best Practices www.usatf.org/groups/officials/resources/best-practices/

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