PoleVaultPower.com

Posted: **Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:30 pm**

ok after reading the redneck pole vault thread i was wondering if you could make a pit out of hay and tarps. I was thinking it wouldn't be that hard like if you sewed a 14X10 tarp for the top and another for the bottom, and then 4' sections on the side and then stuffed it full of hay it wouldn't be that hard. It would be an inexpensive pit and fun to play around on. Am i wrong would it be too hard of a landing area?

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:43 am**

You could probably do some real short and easy stuff on it, but you sure wouldn't want to vault 13' on one of those.

It also sounds like a good way to roll an ankle.

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2007 1:47 am**

yeah, but i am thinking about filling the holes in my pit with some kind of made stuff because it has a spot that sags down real low and it is already a piece of junk that needs to be thrown away

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:31 pm**

The higher you build up your pit, the softer the landing, assuming the material is soft, as loose hay is. Also, the higher you build up your pit, the shorter the distance of your fall. So if you put your pit on 2 or three feet of hay, you would improve your landing.

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2007 2:27 pm**

Rhino wrote:The higher you build up your pit, the softer the landing, assuming the material is soft, as loose hay is. Also, the higher you build up your pit, the shorter the distance of your fall. So if you put your pit on 2 or three feet of hay, you would improve your landing.

i am thinking about making one completely out of hay, how many feet of hay would you need?

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:33 pm**

Here is a picture that I borrowed off of someone on this site. If they're vaulting on this, I'm sure you can vault on hay.

Big pic:

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:50 pm**

delete

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:56 pm**

souleman wrote:Put the whole works on top of 2 rows of tires. The tires will act as a shock absorber for the "mat" on top. Keep in mind the big problems with the pits from old (AKA hay, sawdust, sand etc.) is that after a few landings and a short period of time the stuff will compact becoming as hard as a rock. So you have to "fluff" it up before each session. Honestly, a fresh sawdust pit was really rather soft to land in. When I was in high school (30 some years ago) I landed in a sawdust/tires-covered by a tarp pit at one of the high schools we competed at . From 12 feet I'd land on it on my butt or on my back and it really wasn't that bad. So, good luck........Mike

ok if you did it like that how many feet high would you put the hay like 4' 5'?

by **2-15-46**

Sometimes the sawdust will freeze and that gives some added firmness:)

Posted: **Sat Jul 14, 2007 6:53 pm**

delete

Posted: **Sat Jul 14, 2007 9:12 pm**

ok i will try that stuff yall have all said, and the best part about a hay pit is if you dont like it you can always make it into a pretty big bonfire lol

Posted: **Sun Jul 15, 2007 1:41 pm**

Safety should always be the first consideration. This is not a good idea... The question is not if you get hurt using hay for a pit , it's when you get hurt how bad will the injury be. This is why any pole vaulting should always be supervised by a qualified coach. A qualified coach would not allow it to happen.