How to break ties in the Pole Vault (and high jump)

[rainbowgirl28]

I am so SO sick of this constantly being screwed up. Let's settle this once and for all.

First I will explain everything in plain english, then I will quote from Rule Books.

If two athletes finish with the same height, the first tiebreaker is the number of misses at the last height cleared.

For example, Bobby and John both cleared 12'0" in the pole vault. Bobby cleared 12'0" on his second attempt, while John cleared 12'0" on his third attempt. Bobby beats John.

If both athletes cleared the last height on the same attempt, the next tie breaker is total misses in the competition.
(not counting the height they exited the competition attempting)

For example, in the same competition, Ryan and David both cleared 11'6". Both athletes cleared 11'6" on their third attempt. Ryan also missed once at 11'0" and twice at 10'6". David missed twice at 11'0" and had no other misses at lower heights. David is the winner because he had less total misses.



Here are two WRONG ways to break ties, that I frequently see:

Wrong tiebreaker method number one: Instead of looking at total misses as the second tiebreaker, the official goes back one height at a time. WRONG.

Wrong tiebreaker method number two: The official looks at the total number of attempts in the competition (so an athlete coming in at a lower height who has more clearances is penalized). WRONG. This was a rule a LONG time ago but has not been a rule in like 50+ years.





What if the athlete is still tied after the two correct tie breakers? See the next post...

[rainbowgirl28]

So what if the athletes are still tied after the two tie-breakers?

If the tie is for any place other than first, they stay TIED. In the official results, they will be tied. If the place concerns a qualifying spot, there will be an administrative jump-off, which I will discuss below, but results from administrative jump-offs do not count.

If the tie is for first place, the athletes must compete in a jump-off. This is a sudden death format that serves to determine a winner. If a higher height is recorded in a first place jump-off, it COUNTS for the results, for records, etc. (2010 HS Casebook p 74-75)

In a jump-off, the athletes get a 4th attempt at the height they went out at. If they went out at different heights, because one athlete passed a height, the 4th attempt is taken at the lower of the heights (2010 HS Rulebook 7-3-2-a note 1).

At any point in the jump-off, if one athlete clears, and one athlete misses, the jump-off is over and the winner does not get anymore attempts. If both athletes make or miss, the bar is raised or lowered 3" (HS) or 5cm (everyone else). There is only one attempt at each height. As soon as one makes and one misses, the competition has ended. You cannot pass heights in a jump-off (2010 HS Rulebook 7-3-2-a note 1).


If there is a tie for a qualifying spot, an administrative jump-off must be used to break the tie. For example, if there are 4 spots to state, and there is a tie for 4th place. An administrative jump-off follows the same rules as above, but is conducted after the conclusion of the competition, and the results do NOT count. Any higher marks should not be recorded in the results, and the athletes should still be listed as tied for team points purposes.

Example (I may be off on the details, but the point is the same): At USAs a few years ago, there was a tie for third place, and top 3 athletes made the World Championships team. The girls both cleared their last attempted height on their 4th attempt. Bar is raised 5cm. They then both cleared the next height! Bar raised 5 more cm. One athlete clears, the other misses. The athlete who clears achieved a higher height than the winner, but the mark does not count for anything, because the jump-off was not conducted in the normal course of competition, it was an administrative jump-off whose only purpose was to determine which athlete made the team.

[rainbowgirl28]

Now for the quotes from the Rule Books. Let's start with the 2010 NFHS Rulebook:

Page 50, Rule 7-3-2:

b. For places determined by height:
1. The competitor with the fewest number of trials for the height at which the tie occurs, i.e., the last height successfully cleared, shall be awarded the higher place.
2. If the tie still remains, the competitor with the fewest total number of unsuccessful trials throughout the competition, up to and including the height last cleared, shall be awarded the higher place.
3. Passed trials shall not count as misses.
4. If the tie remains after applying (1) and (2) and:
(a) It concerns first place, the competitors tying shall make one more attempt for the height at which they failed and. If no decision is reached, the bar shall be lowered in increments of 1 inch in the high jump and 3 inches in the pole vault. If two or more of the tying contestants cleared the height, the bar shall be raised by intervals of 1 inch in the high jump and 3 inches in the pole vault. Each competitor shall attempt one trial at each height until a winner is determined.

Notes:
1. If the height which the tied competitors last attempted is not the same because of a passed height by one or more of the remaining competitors, the bar shall be lowered to the lowest height last attempted by any of' the remaining competitors to begin the jump-off.
2. No passed heights are permitted in the jump-offs.
(b) The tie concerns any place other than first place, the competitors shall be awarded the same place.


Art 3 In the vertical jumping events, a competitor shall be credited with his/her best achievement if it occurs in a jump-off for first place.

[rainbowgirl28]

From the NCAA Rule Book, which can be downloaded here: http://www.ncaapublications.com/product ... s/TF10.pdf

Ties—Vertical Jumps
ARTICLE 6. In the high jump and pole vault, ties shall be resolved as
follows (see accompanying example):
a. The competitor with the lowest number of jumps at the height at which
the tie occurs shall be awarded the higher place.
b. If the tie still remains, the competitor with the lowest total of failures
throughout the competition up to and including the height last cleared
shall be awarded the higher place.
c. If the tie still remains:
1) If it concerns first place, the competitors tying shall have one
more jump at each height, starting at the next height in the original
progression above the tying height and, if a decision is not reached,
the bar shall be raised if the tying competitors were successful, or
lowered if not, 2 centimeters in the high jump and 5 centimeters
in the pole vault. Competitors so tying must jump once on each
occasion when resolving the tie. Withdrawal from competition in a
jump-off shall not affect participation in subsequent events or negate
a competitor’s performance in that event.
2) If it concerns any other place, the competitors shall be awarded the
same place in the competition.
Note: In the high jump and pole vault, each competitor shall be credited
with the best of all his or her jumps in the competition proper, including
performances made in the jump-off of a first-place tie.

[rainbowgirl28]

From the 2010 USATF Rule Book, which can be downloaded here: http://www.usatf.org/about/rules/2010/2010rules.pdf

9. Placings – High Jump and Pole Vault:
If two or more competitors have the same best heights, the procedure to decide
places is the following:
(a) The competitor with the lowest number of jumps at the height which was
their best height in the competition shall be awarded the higher place.
(b) If applying (a) will not decide, the competitor with the lowest total of
failures throughout the competition up to and including the height last
cleared shall be awarded the higher place.
(c) If applying (b) will not decide, the competitors involved shall be awarded
the same place unless it concerns first place.
(d) If it concerns first place, the competitors tying shall jump-off, described as
follows, unless otherwise decided either in advance according to the
Technical Regulations applying to the competition, or by the appropriate
Referee. If no jump-off is held, including where the relevant competitors at
any stage decide not to jump further, the tie for first place shall stand. This
rule shall not apply to the Combined Events.
i. Tying competitors must make a trial at every height until a decision is
reached.
ii. Each competitor has one trial at each height.
iii. The jump-off shall start at the next height, determined in accordance
with Rule 181.1, after the height last cleared by the tying competi-
tors.
iv. If no decision is reached, the bar shall be lowered (if all have failed) or
raised (if two or more have cleared) by 2cm in the High Jump and 5cm
in the pole vault.
v. A competitor who does not jump at any height automatically forfeits
any claim to first place. If only one other competitor remains, and has
made an attempt, that competitor is declared the winner regardless of
whether that height is cleared or not.

[Divalent]

Errors I've witness in breaking ties (and which ended up in the official results) when the first two tie-breakers didn't resolve it:

- Counting bars cleared, giving the advantage to the vaulter that cleared more; essentially *rewarding* coming in lower. (This despite the fact that I even showed them the rule in the rule book on how to do it; the jerk did it anyway to break a tie below 1st place; I guess because what *HE* thought the rule is was better evidence for what the rule actually is than the actual rule printed in the rule book!)

- A variant of your 2nd "wrong way" above: giving the advantage to the vaulter that came in at a higher height.

Then there are the meets that just ignore the rule completely and just tie everyone who cleared the same height. (I can point you do some very big interstate "elite" meets that did that.)

[rainbowgirl28]

Then there are the meets that just ignore the rule completely and just tie everyone who cleared the same height. (I can point you do some very big interstate "elite" meets that did that.)

Often what happens in those cases is the official breaks the ties, but the person entering the results into hy-tek either does not know how or is too lazy to use the "Judges Decision" feature to break the ties (Hy-Tek automatically does placing based on results, so the marks are tied by default).

[achtungpv]

Another thing every vaulter needs to know...

No matter how many times you say it, "HEIGHTH" is not a word. The proper word is "HEIGHT".

Hearing an official say "HEIGHTH" for the past two days nearly drove me postal.

[Divalent]

... No matter how many times you say it, "HEIGHTH" is not a word. ...

Yeah. Of course, 200 years ago that was, in fact, the proper spelling (and "hythe" the proper pronounciation). (Dickens used that form of the word). But then the northern regional US dialect got lazy and started pronouncing it "hite", and then misspelling it "height" to cover up their error. Now those remaining pockets of pedantic adherence to tradition are getting smaller and smaller, and the only way to root them out is to use ridicule. Otherwise I fear they will persist in their ignorance of the new ways (clingling mightily to the comfort they get from english dictionaries, which (would you believe!) still permit that pronounciation).

So keep up the good fight!

On a related note: I'd like to aks you a question, but I think I'll wait a few decades.

[achtungpv]

Must be the same tradition that confuses "its" with "it's" and interchanges "they're", "their", and "there".

[Divalent]

Must be the same tradition that confuses "its" with "it's" and interchanges "they're", "their", and "there".

Your correct, those are very inneresting to!