Why not use a 25 foot pole?

[VaultPurple]

the answer is simple... magical poles!!!!!!!

we need a pole that when you plant it is about a 50lb pole, but once it is compleatly bent it is now a 300lb pole and rockets you up!
then we could use 25' poles and pole vault well beyond 30 feet.

[AeroVault]

Hahaha, love that video, Kirk. And you're probably right, the three steps are not really necessary since you can accomplish all of the "pre-loading" with two. It would take a beast of an athlete to maintain body posture as the pole begins to pressure your top hand. I think that's the biggest challenge; maintaining that body angle while the pole chord angle moves to vertical. As for the poles...

the answer is simple... magical poles!!!!!!!

It's not magic, it's science:
New Polymers Engineered To Change Their Stiffness And Strength When Exposed To Liquids
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/99877.php
Something like this may violate the "variable weight pole" rule, but would be fun to play around with.

[VaultPurple]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=e4sIvgi33NEj

FUTURE POLE VAULT 8m!