PoleVaultPower.com

(I wrote this for a non-PV crowd, sums up what's been going on)

USATF keeps screwing over the athletes on the bubble in the women's pole vault…

On the last weekend of qualifying, a small PV-only meet produced five lifetime PRs, including three USA WPVers. There were suspicions raised about multiple aspects of the meet, and there was much discussion about whether or not the results would be rejected. The four girls that were bumped out were left hanging for days.

Two of the athletes made the trip and two did not. The latter two _could_ not make the trip after some phone calls a little less than 48 hours before the meet with USATF where they were explicitly told: DO NOT GET ON THE PLANE. YOU ARE NOT GETTING IN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. Both athletes are in college and it would be an NCAA violation if their school sent them out here after having official word they were not competing.

Last night, less than 24 hours after the start of the event, USATF decided to accept these athletes. One athlete got word and was able to catch a flight VERY early in the morning today, the day of the event. The other athlete, Jade Riebold, turned off her phone when she went to bed. The word came in after 11pm her time and she didn't find out until morning… could not get from the east coast to Eugene on that short of notice.

Fast forward a few hours, the women's pole vault prelims get rained out. They decide to advance all vaulters to the final on Sunday.

That would give Jade enough time to catch a flight tomorrow and make it out.

USATF will not allow her to compete in Sunday's final because she did not check in for today's prelim.

#letJadein

I would minimally protest to the games committee.

I am Jades coach and I just found out that they aren't letting her compete Sunday because she didn't make it in time for check in today. Even though NOBODY notified any of us in this matter, and they changed the ruling the night before the competition. It's cruel to tell someone twice now that their dream came true and then not give them a chance to compete. If anyone has a number or knows anyone out there please notify me.

KYLE ELLIS wrote:I am Jades coach and I just found out that they aren't letting her compete Sunday because she didn't make it in time for check in today. Even though NOBODY notified any of us in this matter, and they changed the ruling the night before the competition. It's cruel to tell someone twice now that their dream came true and then not give them a chance to compete. If anyone has a number or knows anyone out there please notify me.

What's BS is they cancelled prelims. If it was delayed prelims their argument would make sense. But it's not. It's finals and there is nothing in the rules that says they can't petition an athlete in.

We didn't find out until 10:30 last night and she had already gone to bed. They still haven't notified us of anything, I only found out through another coach. How can they not notify us at all or at least try to accomodate her?

Let me chime in this one because one of the women was a former athlete of mine. She showed up to my pv camp for high schoolers because she was told at the airport that she was bumped because of the All Comers meet in California. She was bummed because she would have been 24th and final entry before this meet in CA. (She was also there because I was working with her two younger brothers.) I feel for Kyle because my former vaulter lives near Chicago and Kyle vaulter is four and one half hours away. I'm sure it was easier for her to get a flight. On a side note, I found out because Steph's mom sent me an email. She said that she had cancelled her flight when Steph was told she would not be going.

The USATF needs to fix this because it not only effects the athletes but also the families. It would be every parents dream to see their child compete to make the Olympic team. Sorry, I'm not only a coach but I'm a parent so I kind of see a bigger picture.

This is messed up! Usatf should take responsibility for their mistake. It is obsurd that they can play with peoples dreams like that, and someone who's worked so hard to get there. It is not an easy or everyday task to get to the olympic trials, it takes a lifetime of hard work, and anyone who knows jade knows she has done more than her share of work to reach the heights she has. The fact that they waited so long, and still personally haven't contacted, and to top that to a girl who wouldn't have made it in time for check in if she left today. They moved it and now she has the opportunity to fulfill one of her dreams and compete at a meet she worked so hard to get to, to have it taken away and then given back hours before, usatf needs to figure things out and fix this wrong, a lot can happen in four years, especially for a hard working athlete.

Wow 315 and counting #letJadein tweets, not even counting all of the retweets! Keep them coming guys, and make sure to include @USATrack_Field in your tweet so that they see it.

Best Chance – Put Jaden on a plane immediately!
Do not break NCAA rules by checking into the meet - but have her travel close enough to Eugene so that she can initiate a protest in person.
If USATF allows her to compete she is close enough to get to meet within a reasonable time.
It may be expensive, but she will regret it for the rest of her life if she stays home and misses this opportunity - especially if she is able to persuade USTAF to reconsider their initial decision.
Best of luck to you!

Sounds like a ripe opportunity for a lawsuit. Not that you'll get anything from USATF since they have no money.

Jade is getting on a plane now. The only NCAA issue is if her school pays for her trip and she's not in the meet. Her parents bought her a ticket, so there are no issues there.

She doesn't have her poles, but I am sure with 27 other girls jumping, someone will have something she can borrow if needed.

Just another post in support. I am mandissa marshall father. she found out about being on the list by me checking this site. no one ever contacted her or her school. She is presently traveling to Eugene today hopefully she can conpete. Her coach confirmed she was listed last night.