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I have never understood what the problem with volzing is. I have NEVER heard one pole vaulter (in thirty years as a coach, competitor, or official) complain when his/her rival does it. Instead, they are impressed with the skill involved. If one's own competition has no problem with it, why should the judges care?! If you have the wherewithal to adjust the bar at the top of your vault, by all means, go for it. It's harder than clearing the bar cleanly, that's for sure. Are there any top vaulters out there who have a problem with it? If not, leave the damn vaulters alone. They are THE BEST overall athletes out there.

Yes, I have a problem with volzing, when I'm officiating I hate to call it. I've had to red flag what I thought was a great athletic acclomplishment. If an athlete has the air mindness and ability to stick a bar back up at 18', it's a shame he or she doesn't get extra points for style. 2" pegs need to go as well as the volzing rule. At least trade 2" pegs for letting them volz. As an official, I have to tell you that it puts a lot of pressure on the official, what it if the hand or arm action was defensive in nature and not to put the bar back or steady it? Hate that rule

I don't like it. I coach a girl that likes to hold her hands palms out right in front of her shoulders when she clears the bar. So when she come shallow on a vault her hands will hit the bar and she has been acuzed of volzing, when ther was no action of actually triing to reset the cross bar.

I have a problem with volzing. I never could quite get the hang of it. LB

what if I just knock the bar off then pick it up out of the pit and throw it back on the pegs. that would impress the heck out of everyone.

how far do you have to knock the bar off before you would consider it a miss?

does anyone have a video clip of someone volzing?

Go to www.stabhochsprung.com and download the video of Jean Galfione's 6.00m jump in 1999. Its from World Indoors when he somehow won the gold over Hartwig. Shows a pretty good volz.

gpc3 wrote:I have never understood what the problem with volzing is. I have NEVER heard one pole vaulter (in thirty years as a coach, competitor, or official) complain when his/her rival does it. Instead, they are impressed with the skill involved. If one's own competition has no problem with it, why should the judges care?! If you have the wherewithal to adjust the bar at the top of your vault, by all means, go for it. It's harder than clearing the bar cleanly, that's for sure. Are there any top vaulters out there who have a problem with it? If not, leave the damn vaulters alone. They are THE BEST overall athletes out there.

but dude the point of pole vaulting isnt to go up and push the back up on the pegs. the point is to make the bar as cleanly as possible with no effort of pushing or holding the bar there. if you want to do this why dont we make a new sport where u throw a bar on some pegs. I mean Dave Volz is a good guy he lives here right in town and is a friend of my familie's. So nothing against the guy at all. Although I just dont know if i could handle knowing i made the bar but i really shouldnt have since i pushed it back on the pegs. Well I guess thats just one man's opinion.

lonpvh wrote:I have a problem with volzing. I never could quite get the hang of it. LB

Haha, good one! I agree with the first guy, it takes a lot of skill to push the bar back up there! I practiced it this season and never could do it, so then I had to actually start concenrtating on getting over the bar and not knocking it off! One of my friends jumps 12' and has been getting very good at putting the bar back up! He has done it at districts and regionals and no one has said anything. The busted him on his 1st jump at states though. But I see nothing wrong with it!

to Das 1971, while I don't condone volzin, the record at our pit for throwing a crossbar up on to the pegs and it staying is 11'. That is just holding the bar and tossing it up like a basket ball, as far as actually holding one on, I haven't had any vaulters that were ever very good at it. I do believe female vaulters have a tendency to put there hands in front of their chest in a defensive manner and could easily get called on this silly rule.

I had a problem a while ago with getting my hand stuck against the bar as I go over. Seems that if your arm is there, it naturally wants to put the bar back on. I know how to get the bar to stick by pressing into it on the way over with my chest, and thats pretty close to vaultzing, if not the same. Then there's the lucky bounce, or pegs 6" apart(usually for extensions) instead of a foot. lost my train of thought, baby waking up.... I come back.

They made it a rule for a reason, because the point of vaulting is for you to be able to get OVER a certain height, not to knock it off but put it back on. If they let people volz then they might as well let it count when someone's pole knocks the bar over too.