Dare Family and PSU Continue Safety Efforts

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.gopsusports.com/pressrelease ... 76&spID=14

2.23.2004
Penn State and Dare Family Continue To Promote Pole Vault Safety Initiatives STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; February 23, 2004 – Penn State and the Dare family continue to be at the forefront of several pole vault safety initiatives during the two years since the death of Nittany Lion pole vaulter Kevin Dare.

Dare, a sophomore from State College, died while competing in the pole vault at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 23, 2002. Two high school pole vaulters also died while competing in the event in 2002.

Shortly after Dare’s accident, Tim Curley, Penn State Director of Athletics, and Ed Dare, Kevin’s father, began discussions on improving the safety of the sport with coaches and administrators from the Big Ten, NCAA, USA Track and Field, the United States Track and Field Coaches’ Association, as well as the PIAA, National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the American Society for Testing and Measurements (ASTM) pole vault subcommittee and companies that produce pole vault equipment.

"We continue to be encouraged with the number of safety initiatives that have been implemented during the past two years and will continue to work with the track and field community to make the event as safe as possible," Curley stated. "We are much closer on a pole vault specific helmet being available to all participants within the next few months and a new soft planting box is already available."

A website, www.VaultForLife.com, was created by the Dare family and friends in the memory of Kevin Dare, the 2000 PIAA State Champion. Dedicated to improving the safety of participants in pole vaulting, the website includes articles and topics of discussion and encourages visitor participation. The site also provides an opportunity for visitors to contribute to the Kevin Dare Pole Vaulting Memorial Scholarship Fund at Penn State.

In May, 2002, Penn State hosted a summit on pole vault safety with many members of the track and field community. Also in 2002, the pole vault safety subcommittee of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee made several recommendations that were adopted by the NCAA for the 2002-03 indoor track season and maintained for the current season.

Among the changes adopted by the NCAA was an increase in the size of the landing pad, which previously was required to be a minimum of 16 x 12 feet. The new rule requires that the minimum landing pad width be 19 feet, eight inches and the minimum length be 16 feet, five inches from the back of vaulting box. If the landing pad does not extend to the area immediately around the vaulting box, a box collar of two to four inches of dense foam padding is now required to cover the areas behind and to the side of vaulting box.

The Big Ten Conference adopted several safety measures that went beyond the new initiatives passed by the NCAA. Among the rules adopted by the Big Ten for competition during the 2003 season at its member institutions:

* The landing pad must have an 8x10 foot target zone called the "preferred landing zone" sewn or painted on the top pad.

* Big Ten pole vaulting coaches and vaulters must annually attend a pole vault safety clinic that is conducted via satellite and the Internet and administered by the Big Ten. This safety clinic has been hosted by Penn State in December the past two years and has been available to junior and senior high schools and NCAA institutions nationwide.

* Big Ten schools that sponsor track and field will conduct an annual pole vaulting clinic for junior high and high school track and field coaches. Penn State’s track and field coaching staff, led by women’s head coach, Beth Alford-Sullivan, and men’s head coach, Harry Groves, hosted the clinic last Friday in the Multi-Sport Building in conjunction with a high school track and field invitational Saturday in the facility.

* A coaches’ area has been designated next to the pole vault event. Only one coach per school will be permitted in this area.

* Pole vaulters will annually review and sign a document outlining the pros and cons of wearing a helmet during competition.

* Meet officials shall inspect the pole vault event venue before warm-up. If the venue does not meet the criteria set forth in the rules, the referee will call off the event and award all points to the visiting school.

In addition to involvement in the implementation of the new NCAA and Big Ten safety initiatives, members of the Penn State Athletics staff continue working on the development of new pole vault safety equipment and the improvement of existing equipment. New equipment designed by Penn State in conjunction with two companies is now available in the marketplace and should greatly enhance the safety for pole vaulters:

* Penn State Athletics, in a partnership with the company, Enventys, has developed a pole vault specific helmet. The current market does not have a sport specific helmet for the pole vault event. The University’s College of Health and Human Development’s Biomechanics Lab has been testing the prototype design for the past year and the pole vault specific helmet is expected to be available in the marketplace this summer.

* Penn State Athletics and the company, SkyDex, have developed a soft planting box and improvements in the box collar that surrounds the box. The soft planting box is now available in the marketplace.

* In addition, Penn State Athletics is working with the College of Engineering to improve standards and testing equipment for the poles used in the event.

Curley also serves on the Pole Vault Safety Certification Board (www.pvscb.com) an organization developing an online certification program for high school track and field coaches and pole vaulters. The certification program requires the participants to pass a four-section test in order to be certified to compete in, or coach, the event. The PVSCB’s mission is to promote information and testing for the education and certification of pole vaulters.

[C-townvault]

Anyone else get the feeling they are going to try to make them mandatory pretty soon? Personally i dont' want to wear them. From what has been said a fall from more than a few feet up is going to break my neck?

[PVJunkie]

Dont be misinformed.........it that were true thousands of skateboaders around the nation would have broken necks on a yearly basis.

[lonestar]

Notice that all the "safety" recommendations all have to do with equipment and facilities, yet nothing is ever mentioned about the root of the problem, which from what I heard, was a false sense of confidence from being tapped in warmups. Rumor has it, Dare was tapped in on huge poles in warmups that he couldn't roll over on his own power, then he tried to jump on the same pole in the meet and turned up before the pole got to vertical. He made the pit in warmups because of the tap and felt safe, but couldn't do it on his own power once the meet started. Granted, tapping is disallowed now in warmups and during the competition, but I see more kids in Texas landing short in meets because they're so conditioned to jumping with taps all the time in practice. How do you stop people from tapping too much? You can't, but you can require coaching certification that educates coaches as to why tapping can be like playing with fire, like in Dare's case. Make a rule that a school cannot have a vaulter competing unless a certified coach is present, and the NCAA should offer the coaching certification to each conference for free, lord knows they have enough money.

Maybe I'm wrong and my sources weren't very good, but it seems to me that just simply padding the hell out of everything is like telling a kid it's okay to play with fire as long as he wears gloves.

[Bruce Caldwell]

Good comments Kris

Tapping can add about 10 lbs to at least 35 lbs or more to the take-off of the vaulter. I am worried about taps and the extras stress on poles as well as vaulters short comings without the tap.

We do need more qualified education.

I think the camps should offer discounts for coaches to attend with their kids. Or even a camp for coaches only!!!

I talked to a coach today that told me they did not check on the size of poles in his state meet????

I may of lost the sale of our pole,
but I had to tell him he needed to be the person who checked the pole and made sure they fit the athletes not the state meet. He was the one responsible.

[zack]

Officials have to enforce the rules too. I know at one of the meets at UW this year there was a Pac-10 coach that tapped two of his vaulters in warm-ups and nothing was said to him.

[OAKPV2004]

You know. I hate taps, never even got a tap before. but sure enough i have seen them... they are retarted and have no practical use, you might as well have a box 18" deep instead of 8".

[fong520]

my coach said there was a new rule where u couldnt tap during competition for the girls... i was wondering.. were u like alloud to b4 or something.. or did he just read it wrong adn it was meant for the warmups?

[rainbowgirl28]

my coach said there was a new rule where u couldnt tap during competition for the girls... i was wondering.. were u like alloud to b4 or something.. or did he just read it wrong adn it was meant for the warmups?

You've never been allowed to tap during competition, and boys and girls have the same rules.

[ashcraftpv]

The best thing you can do when you see someone giving a vaulter a tap is ask him to stop, be it in practice, warmups, or competition.

A vaulter that needs a tap really needs to be on a smaller pole or gripping lower. Don't be afraid to step in and let your voice be heard. It will always be worth an argument with a coach if you can get them to stop giving taps to their kids.

[Decamouse]

The Post about Penn St. also contains misleading information and some inaccurate information. And that is how urban legends begin - But - hey if it is in the paper or on the internet it has to be true - right

[Bruce Caldwell]

The Post about Penn St. also contains misleading information and some inaccurate information. And that is how urban legends begin - But - hey if it is in the paper or on the internet it has to be true - right

Decamouse
Could you help the readers by outlining those inaccuracies in an effort to surpress those rumours and Legends?

THANKS IN ADVANCE