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We have attended 3 meets so far and 2 of these meets had problems with the way their pits/standards were setup. The second meet we attended had a pit set up on a concrete slab with standard 1 1/2" gym mats covering exposed concrete on the sides using illegal sized pits that had a large hole in the middle mat (about the size ot 2 basketballs). The box also had a 4" concrete ledge directly behind the box that was exposed. This school also had no box collar. The 3rd meet that we attended had the mats extending into the box about 4 inches and the standards were positioned so as the max. depth could only be 24". When the adult running the match was asked about adjusting the setup he just shrugged it off. How does a visiting parent get these problems looked at with out being asked to leave the track ??????

Make them pick up the standards physically and move them back. That's what we did at a meet where the standards were rusted in place and wouldn't move!

Talk to the meet director? The "official" is often going to be a clueless volunteer. If their pits are not legal size, it is a big liability for the school.

Becca, I was pissed as my son got a major high ankle sprain. He will be out for probably at least 2 to 3 weeks. Do we make them stop the meet and get the "starter" to certify or reject the setup the setup ??? Do we go over the teacher-coach's head thast is running the p/v ???? Most track coaches in our area don't pay a lot of attention to detail on how the p/v pits and standards are setup (ovder paid and over worked) Most of the meets try to make the parents stay in the bleachers and not be allowed to inspect the setup AS a parent how loud should we get?????

1yeldud1 wrote:Becca, I was pissed as my son got a major high ankle sprain. He will be out for probably at least 2 to 3 weeks. Do we make them stop the meet and get the "starter" to certify or reject the setup the setup ??? Do we go over the teacher-coach's head thast is running the p/v ???? Most track coaches in our area don't pay a lot of attention to detail on how the p/v pits and standards are setup (ovder paid and over worked) Most of the meets try to make the parents stay in the bleachers and not be allowed to inspect the setup AS a parent how loud should we get?????

Probably the only thing you can do is choose not to jump there. It's a tough decision to make, but in many cases they won't be able to do much to fix the facility at that moment in time. I would talk to your son's head coach and express your concern about him vaulting at unsafe facilities. Your head coach needs to be aware of the situation so that he can discuss it with the coaches from other schools.

You have probably hit on the right decision. The sad part of it is that our H.S. season only consists of about 11 to 12 meets total plus districts and state. When we travel all year long to attend meets all over the midwest it is HARD not to jump within a few miles of our house. ****** P.S. the district meet we attended last year had the standards off over 8 inches which we did not discover until the vault started (funny thing everyone who vaulted at this school knew about it) and then they let a home team vaulter set a school record using a crossbar that was broken and taped back together. He would vault and land on this bar and the bar would bend probably 14 to 20 inches and stay bent when he landed in the pit ---- kind of like having a shock absorber ---- it would NOT fall of the pegs. BUMMER

carry a rule book with you to every meet that you go to so you have something to back up what you are saying

1yeldud1 wrote:and then they let a home team vaulter set a school record using a crossbar that was broken and taped back together. He would vault and land on this bar and the bar would bend probably 14 to 20 inches and stay bent when he landed in the pit ---- kind of like having a shock absorber ---- it would NOT fall of the pegs. BUMMER

You've gotta be kidding!!! WOW. I guess the rules don't apply to them.

Don't get me wrong the vaulter who set the record is a great kid but the official running the P/V should have know better. When we arrived they started weighing the individual vaulters weight on a scale and then when the offical in charge from the state saw this he said "No" and made them quit. This mass confusion is what is hard to accept.

It was very depressing to read some of these posts regarding pits too small, standards that are rusted, holes in mats, exposed concrete, broken/taped crossbars, vaultboxes made narrower because of gym mats, event volunteers that have no concept on venue preparation and weight verification procedure terminated for no reason.

Are there any "certified" officals at any of these meets? I would expect that at a minimum, the starter is. NFHS rules make it is his job to inspect the venues and shut any down that do not meet NFHS regulations. I say, turn this guy into your state office in writting along with a letter to NFHS.
Get the AD involved, get the district superintendent involved, get other vaulters involved. After all, it's their heads at stake here.

I do like the comment about not vaulting.. except I would add that all the vaulters have to boycott that venue. Find a local newpaper sports reporter to write a column on how this facility condones unsafe conditions. Bottom line is to get these conditions fixed.
$10k to $18K is a drop in the bucket when compared to the legal troubles that will result after an accident. Now your pit will cost you in the millions of dollars.

I totally agree with what y'all are saying. I just hope that the reaction to a news report wouldn't be to terminate vaulting at the school. Granted the rulebook says the host school forfeits the points, but they might not care.