Important: Latest News about labels

[Capt Caveman]

I am not for or against the rule but havent most poles always had a maximum wt rating? I was looking at some of our older Pacer poles (over 13 yrs old) and the tag under the glass says the wt is a max. Heck if I remember correctly didnt the foil tag on the OLD browing skypole (the brown one) have a max grip height based on your wt?

I guess I am asking if all poles have always had a max wt rating on them in some form (engraved, stickered etc)? If so why is this such a big deal?

If this is the case why are so many coaches/athletes angry about a rule that enforces what the manufacturers have put on the poles for years? I guess to me its kinda like speeding, I do it all the time BUT when the official (a cop) is around I follow the rules.

[rainbowgirl28]

Because the new rules make people have to go out and get stickers, when everyone can see the engravings or embedded weights. I hate DQing a perfectly good pole because the numbers aren't big enough.

[Capt Caveman]

Sorry about that. I guess I confused the rule as a whole with the requirements of how it is displayed.

[PViewer]

We just came through the league, regional, and state finals, and poles were well scrutinized. However, now and during the season, officials would put colored dots or other stickers on the labels and often wrap scotch tape around them. The dots and stickers partially obscure the weight label and the tape partially peels it off. Any way to require them to put these somewhere other than on the label?

[rainbowgirl28]

We just came through the league, regional, and state finals, and poles were well scrutinized. However, now and during the season, officials would put colored dots or other stickers on the labels and often wrap scotch tape around them. The dots and stickers partially obscure the weight label and the tape partially peels it off. Any way to require them to put these somewhere other than on the label?

It can be tough to get the stickers to stick to other parts of the pole, and with most brands the weight label is at the top anyway. You want that stuff above where the athletes are holding.

[vault-official]

I had a quick question for all those NFHS Rule pros out there. Is the old Cat-a-pole label legal? The one that's vertical on the pole and silver? I've been working on getting my state association to make a decision, but they just can't seem to. Depending who you talk to, it is or it isn't. I didn't see too many at the state level (if any) so I'm not sure what the ruling would have been, but my district meet was DQing them, but not every district did. Same thing for sectionals. If it is/is not legal, can someone maybe explain why. Technically, I think it is because it meets the 3/4 size requirement, but with it being silver, I'm not sure on the contrasting color side of things. I don't run across them often, but for whatever reason, I had a school bring nothing but them to a meet last year. Meet managment was just as confused to the ruling as I was, so we made the decision to let them jump since everything else checked out on the pole.

Also, does anyone have a picture of the new Gill replacement labels? I had a coach so me a few that he "supposedly" had just gotten in from Gill, but they looked more like they had been printed on a label maker. They were Yellow with Black lettering.

My area is big on bending/breaking the rules to the point of the sport becoming unsafe so I'm trying to start early with the preventive officialing. We've had a lot of issues this past season, but my state association doesn't feel the need to respond to questions or avoids the question entirely. The event should be fun for the kids as well as safe.

[rainbowgirl28]

I had a quick question for all those NFHS Rule pros out there. Is the old Cat-a-pole label legal? The one that's vertical on the pole and silver? I've been working on getting my state association to make a decision, but they just can't seem to. Depending who you talk to, it is or it isn't. I didn't see too many at the state level (if any) so I'm not sure what the ruling would have been, but my district meet was DQing them, but not every district did. Same thing for sectionals. If it is/is not legal, can someone maybe explain why. Technically, I think it is because it meets the 3/4 size requirement, but with it being silver, I'm not sure on the contrasting color side of things. I don't run across them often, but for whatever reason, I had a school bring nothing but them to a meet last year. Meet managment was just as confused to the ruling as I was, so we made the decision to let them jump since everything else checked out on the pole.

Also, does anyone have a picture of the new Gill replacement labels? I had a coach so me a few that he "supposedly" had just gotten in from Gill, but they looked more like they had been printed on a label maker. They were Yellow with Black lettering.

My area is big on bending/breaking the rules to the point of the sport becoming unsafe so I'm trying to start early with the preventive officialing. We've had a lot of issues this past season, but my state association doesn't feel the need to respond to questions or avoids the question entirely. The event should be fun for the kids as well as safe.

The silver label by itself does not meet the letter of the law unless it has the additional label underneath that indicates maximum handhold. I might have a picture somewhere, I'll try to dig it up later. The rule says their has to be a weight label and a maximum handhold band and the maximum handhold band has to go around the pole which those silver labels do not. WIth most brands, one label serves both purposes.

I wouldn't feel too guilty about allowing Catapoles that only have the silver label since they are not being made anymore and there's no easy way to get replacement labels or anything like that.

The replacement labels are yellow with black writing on paper with a shiny surface. If you look closely, there should be info about the length/weight/flex/etc of the pole printed in tiny print at the top.