PoleVaultPower.com

From today's Austin American-Statesman Letters to the Editor:

Go ahead, show me one sports photo of a close-up of a baseball player's crotch. Why do sports photographers continue to visually abuse women athletes with photographs such as the one on the front page of the April 7 American-Statesman? This isn't a men's magazine.

If the photographers won't police their own judgements, the editors certainly should. Of all the angles a photographer can choose to showcase a woman athlete's ability, he submitted this one? Stop this. - JACKIE KNOTT, Fischer

veery interesting.... im curious to see how this plays out

I have been a part of PVP, T and F news, the IAAF message boards for many years now, and now feel I need to make a post. I have followed the pole vault, high jump, hurdles, and long jump both locally, internationally and nationally. This picture is not uncommon nor is it inappropriate. If you look at any photos from ANY meet you will see long jumpers from the front high jumpers hurdlers should I continue... You can say a women high jumper is inappropriate (think about the form) so should you not take a picture? The women who wrote in and complained COME ONE! Women are making their mark, Title IX is in their favor, now an activist who does not know anything about athletics is going to cause controversy. Now all photographers are going to be careful choosing certain angles to the point the say, "Forget it, we will just take pictures of the MEN." All I have to say is think of the consequences before you start a controversy you can't handle.

That is a good picture of the action of her jump! When taking sports photo's it is nice to be able to see the athlete's face as it shows their emotion. I personally would have picked a different angle or the previous shot in the sequence or later on with the invert.

I am guessing the person responding doesn't look at a lot of sports photography and if this picture was on the cover of the sports section on the main cover there would have never been a response. I also bet that if the athlete wasn't wearing buns it wouldn't be an issue either.

I guess I am getting old, when I picked that paper up in the morning, my only thought was "cool, a pole vaulter on the front page of the paper". The local paper doesn't really consider track and field a newsworthy sport and to see any track and field athlete in the paper is a treat. I thought it was a great picture. Then I read the letter to the editor days later and was floored. I didn't see the photo as a "crotch shot". I guess you can't please everybody. Congrats to Jackie anyway, a Texas Relays victory, front page coverage and now a controversy.

i wonder if this lady has ever even seen a picture of a pole vaulter. ridiculous.

achtungpv wrote:From today's Austin American-Statesman Letters to the Editor:

Go ahead, show me one sports photo of a close-up of a baseball player's crotch. Why do sports photographers continue to visually abuse women athletes with photographs such as the one on the front page of the April 7 American-Statesman? This isn't a men's magazine.

If the photographers won't police their own judgements, the editors certainly should. Of all the angles a photographer can choose to showcase a woman athlete's ability, he submitted this one? Stop this. - JACKIE KNOTT, Fischer

I do agree a little bit, call me a feminist.

this is the lamest argument ever, thats like being like how could you take a picture of a women gymnast while she was doing a split or something, it is part of the event. the polevault is a highly respected event withing the polevault community. it isnt the vaulters vault for having good form, that lady needs to do her research before arguing over something so dumb like that, if anything ask the women vaulter herself. and if she does mind, then i guess put basketball shorts on all vaulters so nothing is seen that might offend an on looker

uconnvaulta wrote:that lady needs to do her research before arguing over something so dumb like that, if anything ask the women vaulter herself. and if she does mind, then i guess put basketball shorts on all vaulters so nothing is seen that might offend an on looker

You gotta keep in mind that the further you get from Austin proper, the distance between the eyes increases, the thickness of the brow deepens, and the chromosome count decreases while righteous indignation rises exponentially. The AAS probably printed it because it's funny to make fun of fundy hillbillies.

aaaaaahhhhh that's where the shallow end of the gene pool is!!!!!

looks to me like she has a pretty nice swing phase to her jump...Thats the first thing i thought of when i saw the picture...lol

The News Herald