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This is a video of me vaulting in our first meet. I know I'm horrible, but any insights or tips anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. Those vaults are at 9', 9'6", and the last segment is 10'. I'm 6'1", 153lbs, holding 12'6" on a 13' 150. Thanks again.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6uhvuEN95R4

First of all, I want to point out is your plant. I think you could apply a little more pressure to your bottom arm up into the pole, so you can penetrate a little more, and it will let you get back on it further. Which leads me to the next thing. What you are doing is shooting out your legs, and not getting vertical at all. You start to rock back, but then you just shoot your legs out as if your parallel with the ground, rather than getting back and being totally vertical with the pole. Once you get back on the pole all the way, you can start to work on your turn, and jumping above your grip. Hope all this helps, and good luck to ya!

Umm..... you say your 153 lbs jumping on a 150 lbs pole. Im no expert but this just doesn't sound good.

plvltngdude wrote:Umm..... you say your 153 lbs jumping on a 150 lbs pole. Im no expert but this just doesn't sound good.

I don't know what state this guys is jumping in, but in mine that would be considered Illegal

Thanks Vault Chick, and to the other guys above, being overweight on your pole is actually not bad. Having been to two of Jan Johnson's camps in the past two years, i have learned about this. He gave us a chart that shows us poles that area equal to each other but have different lengths and weights. I'll expand if you want me to, but the point that Jan was making is that wieghts are a suggestion, and being 5 or 10 lbs above the weight of your pole is not a bad thing, as long as you're not getting close to breaking the pole. (Jan Johnson is the National Pole Vault Safety Commisioner)

Ps- I am in California. Very relaxed here, ya know.

ipolevault wrote:Thanks Vault Chick, and to the other guys above, being overweight on your pole is actually not bad. Having been to two of Jan Johnson's camps in the past two years, i have learned about this. He gave us a chart that shows us poles that area equal to each other but have different lengths and weights. I'll expand if you want me to, but the point that Jan was making is that wieghts are a suggestion, and being 5 or 10 lbs above the weight of your pole is not a bad thing, as long as you're not getting close to breaking the pole. (Jan Johnson is the National Pole Vault Safety Commisioner)

If you are in high school, it is not a suggestion, it is a rule. How strictly it is enforced varies widely by region.

Whether or not it is actually safe is a different issue, but do know that it is a national rule (for high school), not a guideline.

I weigh 145 and use a 140 pole. No one has ever said any thing to me, Im from Michigan.

It also depends on the skill level of the vaulter, if you were an expert vaulter and using that pole then yeah I would agree with everyone in saying that you should definately reconsider what you are doing however that is not the case.
You are holding lower than the top of the pole so right there you are already adding "pounds" to the pole so with that hand hold that you have there I would guess that you are adding anywhere from 5 to 10lbs to the pole which would put you in the clear. Thats what I do, I'm on a 15' 155lbs but I'm holding it as if it were a 14'6" which stiffens the pole a bit for me to act like a 160-165lbs pole.
Oh and for the critique, don't look at that bar its not goin anywhere. Perform your vault and you will be fine and everything else that Vault Chick said

fastpich19 wrote:I weigh 145 and use a 140 pole. No one has ever said any thing to me, Im from Michigan.

You're breaking the rules too.

I am not saying you guys are necessarily vaulting unsafely, I am saying you should be aware of the rules and know that you are breaking them, and that if you got to a meet where they weighed you, you would be disqualified if you used those poles that are under your weight

When I was at state in Illinois 4 years ago, they weighed all the vaulters before the competition. Don't screw yourself over and spend all year on a pole that you can't use in a big meet.

jnsm19 wrote:It also depends on the skill level of the vaulter, if you were an expert vaulter and using that pole then yeah I would agree with everyone in saying that you should definately reconsider what you are doing however that is not the case.
You are holding lower than the top of the pole so right there you are already adding "pounds" to the pole so with that hand hold that you have there I would guess that you are adding anywhere from 5 to 10lbs to the pole which would put you in the clear. Thats what I do, I'm on a 15' 155lbs but I'm holding it as if it were a 14'6" which stiffens the pole a bit for me to act like a 160-165lbs pole.
Oh and for the critique, don't look at that bar its not goin anywhere. Perform your vault and you will be fine and everything else that Vault Chick said

Ah, yes, this is what i was trying to say, that lowering your hand grip increases the weight of the pole. They don't check weights in high school, and I guess if you're vaulting in college or beyond, you should be on a pole that "weighs" more than you anyway