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This is the 2nd year we will be run this street vault! It is at the biggest county fair in Mn! Very fun!

Hope to see everyone there!

Just an update,

We are adding one more street vault in Lio Lakes MN Aug 19th, (this is there City days) We are the big show!!

To back to back weekend to end the summer!

Great news on the second street vault in Lino Lakes!!!

I am hoping to bring some vaulters up to the event. It will be a great way to end the summer.

http://www.startribune.com/332/story/614235.html

Pole vaulters take to the air at the fair
The Dakota County Fair's "street vault" last Saturday struck a perfect mix of competition and summer fun.
Ben Goessling, Star Tribune
Last update: August 15, 2006 – 10:43 AM

Jamie Steffen and several other members of the Flight Deck Athletics pole vault club spent 10 hours last Thursday setting up a makeshift pole vault area at the Dakota County Fair.
When the wind kicked up Saturday morning, they had to take the whole thing apart and move it 90 degrees to the north.

But as crowds thickened around the club's second annual "street vault" at the fair last Saturday, Steffen could finally relax.

"I like to call it the 'wow factor.' People have seen little clips of [pole vaulting], but they forget about it," he said. "When they see it up close, they go, 'Wow, that's pretty cool.' "

Designed as a way for local high school and college vaulters to get some summer experience while showcasing their skills to the public, the event succeeded on both counts.

Apple Valley's Kristin Dare won the high school girls' division, and Burnsville's Zack Gowdy finished second in the high school boys' division, clearing a height of 13 feet, 6 inches in the process.

The event also drew 20 high school coaches, a handful of college coaches and plenty of fairgoers who did a double take as they walked by.

"It's at the fair. It's got to be cool," Dare said. "People see us with poles and go, 'What are they doing?' "

The event was decidedly low-key. Dare and several friends wore tube socks, and rock music blasted out of a stereo as vaulters jumped.

The 130-foot runway was made of rubber and eight-foot plywood sections elevated 10 inches off the ground.

Flight Deck rented several 28-foot trailers to haul the runway and borrowed pits from Apple Valley and Farmington high schools.

Dare said the runway felt fast, but Steffen had another explanation.

"It's a little springy, but they run faster because it's elevated and there's a crowd," he said. "It's a free show for them."

FHS grad promoting pole vault at the fair
Pat Rupp The Farmington Independent
Published Thursday, August 10, 2006

When 1997 Farmington High School graduate Jamie Steffen gets involved in something, watch out.

During his high school days he ran cross country and track and won a medal at the state wrestling tournament. He later wrestled at Itasca Community College and St. Cloud State University where he also dabbled in pole vaulting with the Husky track team.

Now a special education teacher and coach at Apple Valley High School, Steffen is doing more than dabbling in the high-flying field event. This Saturday he and other members of the Flight Deck Athletics Club will conduct a day-long street vault exhibition at the Dakota County Fair featuring some of the best high school, collegiate and independent vaulters in the region.

"Our main purpose is to promote the sport of pole vaulting," Steffen said. "Our club puts on clinics and other things but the big thing we want to do is to show people what a fun and safe sport that vaulting is."

Steffen spends most of his summer working with high school and collegiate vaulters through Flight Deck’s camps, clinics and competitions. More than 300 vaulters have taken advantage of the club’s services this summer.

"For me the attraction of vaulting is the extreme aspect of the sport,â€Â