Pole Vaulting Helmets

Discussion about ways to make the sport safer and discussion of past injuries so we can learn how to avoid them in the future.
mdavis2685
PV Whiz
Posts: 122
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 3:41 pm
Location: Jonesboro Arkansas ASU baby!
Contact:

Unread postby mdavis2685 » Thu Sep 30, 2004 3:52 pm

do helmets really help? i think about it like this, a helmet can yes save your life but also could put your life in more danger. by that i mean it is just another distraction. i personally dont want something on my head and have the chance of that messing me up. also helmets are safe for iff you miss the pit yes but from some of the deaths in this sport they happened by landing in the box on their head. A helmet wont protect you from that. a fall from any height landing upside down on your head is going to break your neck/back and as far as i know helmets dont protect those areas.

User avatar
tim hutzley
PV Pro
Posts: 436
Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2003 1:30 am
Location: California
Contact:

Unread postby tim hutzley » Thu Sep 30, 2004 4:50 pm

the company who makes tobys hocky helmet should make a toby stevenson pole vault helmet. That would be wicked.

User avatar
achtungpv
PV Rock Star
Posts: 2359
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2002 2:34 pm
Location: Austin, TX

Unread postby achtungpv » Thu Sep 30, 2004 6:58 pm

rainbowgirl28 wrote:$100 for a helmet though? Most skateboard helmets are $40 as I recall. Maybe these are more expensive to make?


All products theoretically get cheaper as the number of units sold increases. A company selling skate helmets can probably move 10s if not 100s of thousands of helmets a year and can make a good profit at $40. A PV-only helmet? They'll be lucky to sell 1,000 a year and their profit margin on $100 is probably lower per helmet than the skate helmet at $40. That's barely worth the trouble of hiring the 3rd world children to build the darn things.
"You have some interesting coaching theories that seem to have little potential."

User avatar
Bruce Caldwell
PV Enthusiast
Posts: 1783
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2003 3:19 pm
Expertise: It is all about Pole Vaulting. I even catch the competitors poles!
Lifetime Best: 15'8"
Favorite Vaulter: Kjell Issakson, Jan Johnson
Location: DFW TEXAS
Contact:

soft box

Unread postby Bruce Caldwell » Thu Sep 30, 2004 7:55 pm

any one have success stories on the soft box/
I love the PV, it is in my DNA

User avatar
Scott Go Pre
PV Lover
Posts: 1146
Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2004 3:48 pm
Expertise: Former college vaulter, and high school coach
Lifetime Best: 4.88m
Favorite Vaulter: Toby Stevenson
Location: Tallahassee, FL

Unread postby Scott Go Pre » Thu Sep 30, 2004 9:54 pm

mdavis2685 wrote:do helmets really help? i think about it like this, a helmet can yes save your life but also could put your life in more danger. by that i mean it is just another distraction. i personally dont want something on my head and have the chance of that messing me up. also helmets are safe for iff you miss the pit yes but from some of the deaths in this sport they happened by landing in the box on their head. A helmet wont protect you from that. a fall from any height landing upside down on your head is going to break your neck/back and as far as i know helmets dont protect those areas.


It's true that a helmet won't be able to save your neck from falling on your head, but it can save you if you happen to fall like Somoa Fili did, or even Jesus Quesada. But a helmet is only a distraction if you think that it will be. I wear one, and when I put my helmet on, I forget about the darn thing during the run and vault. It will only hurt you if you let it get to you-- don't let it get to you head ;)
Rely upon God with all your heart, do not rely on your own insight. ~ Proverbs 3:5

mdavis2685
PV Whiz
Posts: 122
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 3:41 pm
Location: Jonesboro Arkansas ASU baby!
Contact:

Unread postby mdavis2685 » Thu Sep 30, 2004 9:57 pm

bruce as you know we have two of them at HipAthletics but nobody has landed in them on their head which is better than having a story, but more on those boxes; i dont feel any difference in planting a pole in that box or a metal box, but reading the stats on how they can help save lives from several feet higher than a metal box i think they are the answer, the only problem they are soooo expensive compared to the metal boxes

User avatar
lonestar
PV Lover
Posts: 1475
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2002 12:23 am
Location: New Braunfels, TX
Contact:

Unread postby lonestar » Thu Sep 30, 2004 10:03 pm

achtungpv wrote:Learn to pole vault instead. It's a much better investment.


Seriously! :dazed:
Any scientist who can't explain to an eight-year-old what he is doing is a charlatan. K Vonnegut

User avatar
saraf
PV Pro
Posts: 447
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 3:52 pm
Location: Athens, GA
Contact:

Unread postby saraf » Fri Oct 01, 2004 9:03 pm

hey mike how do those soft boxes treat you kankles ??? :P I am just messin with ya !! haha

VTechVaulter
PV Lover
Posts: 1312
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 8:00 pm
Expertise: Current Elite Vaulter, College Volunteer Coach, HUGE FAN

Unread postby VTechVaulter » Fri Oct 01, 2004 9:03 pm

kevin dare was a 5.10 meter vaulter. he def knew how to pole vault. as per the other deaths i can not speak of. The fact is that every pole vaulter at some point in there career will be involved in some kind of accident. Things you can do to reduce risk are always a plus. Would a helmet have saved my friend, probably not. kevins accident was going to be fatal no matter what he was wearing.

I do agree that safe pole vaulting is the key. I land in the dead center of the pit 99% or the time. one or two jump get off a foot or two, but learning to plant straight every time was something my father instilled upon me from the start. but i still wear a helmet and it has helped me a couple times. One fall where i landed on my feet at the front of the box, but the metal spikes slid out from under me, spinning my shoulder down to the ground and then whiplash head into ground. Broke my helmet, got up and walked away. And when i broke a pole, the plug came up and tapped me int he back of the helmet too.

I think they are a good idea, and we have seen in the past few years that they dont stop you from jumping high, toby, bobby most, handful of others. But no, they shouldn't be mandatory, but i recommend it. thanx for listening

my opinion anyway.
Brian Mondschein
Philadelphia Jumps Club, Coach and Co-Founder
www.phillyjumpsclub.com

User avatar
Bruce Caldwell
PV Enthusiast
Posts: 1783
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2003 3:19 pm
Expertise: It is all about Pole Vaulting. I even catch the competitors poles!
Lifetime Best: 15'8"
Favorite Vaulter: Kjell Issakson, Jan Johnson
Location: DFW TEXAS
Contact:

I just heard this might also be High Jump Helmet

Unread postby Bruce Caldwell » Sun Oct 03, 2004 11:15 am

I just heard this might also be High Jump Helmet!

what is anyone's thoughts on this?


Other thoughts
http://polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtop ... 8839#28839
I love the PV, it is in my DNA

mdavis2685
PV Whiz
Posts: 122
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2004 3:41 pm
Location: Jonesboro Arkansas ASU baby!
Contact:

Unread postby mdavis2685 » Sun Oct 03, 2004 5:26 pm

hey adam
i think that any box is gonna be rough on the kankles haha, but as far as wearing a helmet for high jumping i have never seen that at any of the meets i have been in. have there been serious head injuries from the high jump? i only way i can see one is if they go off the back of the pit or over shoot it. does anyone have any stories?

User avatar
jmayesvaultmom
PV Follower
Posts: 528
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2002 10:38 am
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Contact:

High Jump

Unread postby jmayesvaultmom » Sun Oct 03, 2004 7:49 pm

There was a post on here a long time ago about a 12 yr-old girl that bounced off the high jump pit after a jump and then her head hit the concrete around the pit. Her brain swelled that night and she passed away that night. Her dad was the head track coach, I think, of their high school. Terrible thing. The ambulance was there within just a couple of minutes, too. She seemed ok afterwards early in the evening, but then didn't make it.
That's Jodie!!

A scripture that makes me think of all you girls and guys pole vaulting....

Habakkuk 3:19
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.


Return to “Pole Vault Safety”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests