First Meet with the new box collar.

[drcurran]

I have to say I was kind of "on the fence" about the new box collar. Well today I officiated my first meet with the new equipment, and I am sold! From the pictures had seen I was afraid the collar would intrude on the box too much. Not the case if anything the collar seem to direct or even guide the pole to the back of the plant box. I did not see one athlete have any difficulty with the new collar. It was not a very big meet 9 women and 10 men. Villanova hosted the meet at Haverford College in Haverford, PA. I did hear of one issue (from another meet) that officials need to be aware of. It seem on rare occasions the pole after being released, and pushed back properly, can be trapped by the "T" and come back towards the bar. Of course not an issue if the bar is high enough for the pole to pass under, but if the pole is taller than the bar this "bounce back" could dislodge the bar and if the official is not aware, might be charged as a failed attempt. OK enough from me, I give the new Box collar two thumbs up!

[volunteer]

we have experienced that very problem twice. Both cases were girls , both 'SHOULD' have been PRs. It was like the wind was blowing INDOORS. The Officials did not even consider what the coaches were complaining about. It was obvious that the T section bounced the pole around and back into the bar. I think we are going to see a number of issues like this where a judgment call will be needed and the officials are not ready for this.

[VaultPurple]

I posted an image of the major problem I saw..

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=41779

[drcurran]

Volunteer - I'm trying to get the word out to as many officials as I can so they will be on the look out for this issue. Just as we have to watch for "tail wind situations" outdoors, we will have to watch for "collar bounce back" indoors. As I said I did not see this but was advised about it from another meet.

[volunteer]

Drcurran, good to hear you're openly discussing with officials. Our local officials group had a meeting about this very topic at a meet Saturday a.m.

So at least the word is spreading and being addressed. Hopefully this site & our topics help pass the word quickly .

PS , thanks to all the officials that work these events so we can all have our fun

[drcurran]

Shortly after my post I received this post - the author did follow up with an oops - he wanted to say December 1 not January 1 - OK officials keep your eyes open.


As you know, the NCAA mandated the use of a new pole vault box collar/padding, beginning January 1st, 2013 for all D-I, D-II, and D-III schools (and it will be mandated for high schools beginning January 1st, 2015).
Officials should be aware that in recent use of the new collar, there have been reports of the collar causing the pole to bounce back and knock into the bar even though the pole had been pushed back toward the runway by an athlete. This could be a problem and potentially a basis for a protest.
This article is provided for your awareness of the potential for a problem. You’ll want your bar judges/flaggers to watch carefully for this and be prepared to make the appropriate call.

Rich Schornstein

Officials' Certification Chair

Colorado Assn, USA Track & Field