Survey of 107 vaulters
by Becca Gillespy
DyeStat correspondent
Total Athlete Responses 107
Do you currently wear a helmet when pole vaulting? Yes/Sometimes
14.0%
"Sometimes. Usually I will wear a helmet when I am: a) Trying
new things; b) Trying things I don't feel comfortable with; c) Getting
on a new pole; d) Whenever my coach has a bug in his system and
just wants me to wear it" --Francisco Pietri, 17, Kempsville
HS, VA
When and why did you start wearing a helmet?
"I just started wearing a helmet recently because the Tri-Valley
Vault Club in Livermore requires wearing a helmet for kids under
18 and still in High School and strongly encourages it for everyone
else." --Savannah Tikotsky, 18, Chabot College
"I started wearing a helmet after attending Coach Don Hood's
camp during the summer of 2000 where we were required to wear one.
The following season my teammate Jeremy Sokol suggested that we
wear them at all times when jumping." -Dana Rosenbladt,
18, Fountainebleu HS, LA
"Encouragement from our coach (not requirement), in light
of the recent tragedies" -Geoff Fairbanks, 22, Southwest
Texas State University
"I started wearing a helmet after the pole vault family lost
Kevin Dare. I wear a helmet because it is ridiculous not to."
-Jared Thornhill, 19, Southwest Texas State University
"We started wearing them April of 2002, because of the deaths
and injuries this year. We are trying to start a trend for younger,
and older athletes, in an attempt to make the sport more safe as
well as protect it from people who are trying to end it." -Paul
Litchfield, 21, Idaho State University, ID
Have these recent accidents made you reconsider whether or not
you should wear a helmet? Yes 28.7%, No 71.3%
"No. I have a great awareness of my body and where I am at
when I am vaulting, so I don't feel at risk of any injury a helmet
could protect. If I hurt anything it would be my feet/legs because
I landed too hard on the ground (on the front end of the pit)"
--Kate Soma, 19, University of Washington
"Yes. For young vaulters I think many injuries would be prevented
that occurred due to lack of knowledge and awareness of the details
that need to be followed to vault safely. Standard position is a
key, many injuries occur from going to too big of a pole with the
standards too far forward and a lack of attention to penetration
putting vaulters in a position that is consistently unsafe ."
--Zach Hamilton, 20, Wake Forest
"No. There is no more or less risk now then when I chose to
start vaulting. I have competent coaches who wouldn't even let me
on the runway if they though I was in danger of hurting myself by
the way I was jumping. From the beginning we've been taught how
to bail safely, never let go of your pole, find a soft spot, etc.,
and I feel confident about my body awareness whether I be right
side up of upside down I know where I am." --Amy Groesbeck,
17, Squalicum HS, WA
"Yes. Everybody has a bad vaulting day, one bad plant and
helmet could save your brain, Plus all pits are not that safe. If
the pit is bad then I know
consider wearing a helmet." --Graham Danziger, 20, UCFV, Abbotsford,
Canada
"No. I feel that as long as you are safe, and have safe conditions,
then you will be OK. A few accidents could have been prevented by
wearing a helmet, but in even more accidents, it wouldn't have helped
at all. I feel that all we can do is emphasize safety, teach safety,
and have the safest conditions possible... and I do not believe
that wearing a helmet would help, but no one is stopping anyone
from wearing one, its completely your personal choice." --Katie
Mattingly, 18, Butte HS, MT
"No. The recent event have all been due to mistakes done by
the athletes and only occurred because the athletes were not taking
the proper safety measures before and during their vault. In my
view, the only way a skilled and knowledgeable vaulter could die
would be from the breaking of their pole in during their vault,
everything else is a lack of technique and training." --Doug
Peinado, 18, A. B. Miller HS, CA
"No. I feel that vaulting with a helmet could lead to other
injuries ie. neck. I don't wear a helmet when I ride a bike, roller
blade, Vaulting is a safer sport than either of these. I feel confident
in my coaching and myself to not have to wear a helmet." --Kevin
Opalka, 20, University of Arizona
"No. I don't land off of the pit. I land on the pit. A fair
amount of my landings sometimes are up high on my shoulders, head
and neck with my neck in a flexed position. The helmet adds space
to the back of the head which would force the neck into a hyperflexed
position in such a landing. There is one girl out of 230 athletes
in a national study that I have completed. This girl overrotated
on her landing, and landed up very high on her shoulders, head and
neck from about 10 feet. She sustained paresthesias or numbness
to all of her limbs for 30 minutes as well as a sternal injury.
These paresthesias are caused by the neck forced into an abnormally
flexed position. This position will narrow the spinal canal and
can contuse or injure the spinal cord. Based on watching the video
of her accident, if she had worn a helmet, she may have sustained
a more serious injury, even possibly paralysis. The vaulter lands
much more often in the pit and often in a hyperflexed position.
If there are only on average 2 severe head injuries per year, that
indicates that landing in such a position to sustain such a head
injury is uncommonly rare. On the other hand, consider how often
a vaulter lands in the pit and overrotated. Now imagine the possibility
of more neck injuries if everybody wore helmets. I am about to risk
that, even if it is theoretical. At this point, although I myself
will not use helmets, I have a neutral position on whether or not
they should be used. People must know that if helmets are used,
they may provide some protection in minor falls, but perhaps not
major falls. Moreover, they might increase one's chances of getting
a neck injury that might be catastrophic." -Spencer Chang,
MD, University of Hawaii
"Yes. It is actually more my parents who are worried. I have
never really had an accident which has made me feel like I need
a helmet, but just today my mom read and article on Helmets and
it had some recent accidents reported in it. She is currently deciding
whether I should wear a helmet or not. I have no preference because
I have seen the ones people wear and they aren't that big of a deal.
They are light weight and fitted so they don't move around. It wouldn't
bother me to wear one. Everyone must remember though that helmets
won't save everyone. For example, Kevin Dare of Penn State, his
injury was so severe that even a helmet wouldn't have helped. Helmets
will only prevent smaller accidents. No one should expect them to
save everyone." -Molly Loesche, 17, Everett HS, WA
"No. Because the helmets that are out now are not meant for
pole vaulting, and I don't believe that a helmet would have helped
in any of the deaths." --Elicia Stratton, 15, Justin-Siena
HS, Napa, CA
"Yes. I don't want to die, and my coach wants me to. I don't
think it should be a rule that all vaulters should wear a helmet.
I think it is a wasted effort when kids are still vaulting on dangerous
pits or have coaches who have not been to camp and don't know what
they're talking about. I think the requirement should be that all
coaches and athletes go to camp together and learn how to do it
right." -Mike Kenney, 18, O'Dea HS, WA
"No. I have been taught by my coach what a real vault looks
and feels like. We always jump with our bar no closer that 24 inches.
By doing so, we learn early on (before the jumps can turn deadly)
what a vault, and how the pole is supposed to react, feels like."
-Eric Dormaier, 17, University HS, Spokane, WA
"No. I really worry more about breaking my neck, so a helmet
wouldn't help all that much." -Corrie Drakulich, 20, University
of Georgia
"No. Because I believe most accidents/ serious injuries and
deaths are caused and could be prevented due to other means.
Many vaulters are using poles which are too soft for them or have
poor technique (i.e. 'pull down' on the pole at take off). This
I believe is often due to inadequate coaching or lack of suitable
poles. This causes the poles to overbend and the vaulter goes off
the back of the pit or looses control and veers off the side etc.
I think the minimum required size of pole vault pits should be increased
in all directions. A soft surface should surround all the pits for
a large area (i.e. soft grass or springy rubber surfacing used on
children's playgrounds).
Perhaps we should have an extra official for each competition (and
an extra coach/helper at practice) with the sole purpose of holding
a 'push in mat' as used in trampoline /gymnastics practices. They
could watch each vault and throw the mat in over the box or the
front side of the pit if it appears the valuter will not make the
pit itself. Helmets are a useful measure, but other bigger safety
issues need to be addressed and could help prevent these accidents
in the first place. Coach education should also be a priority in
this scheme." -Hilary Smith, 26, Birchfield Harriers Athletics
Club, U.K., Great Britain Athletics Team
"No. When you take up pole vaulting you know what you're getting
into is somewhat dangerous it's part of the sport." -Jessica
Bartlet, 18, University of Georgia
"No. If you take the right precautions, like always starting
off the day low on the pole to get warmed up and comfortable for
practice or a meet. That and I started off vaulting by learning
correct form before I even got into the pit. There also have been
times though when I've not made it into the pit and had some harsh
lands, but they don't bother me, kinda just make me want to go harder
and get it right." Dustin Underwood, 17, Plymouth HS,
IN
"Yes. The accidents have shown that even great vaulters can
make mistakes." Bryant Burnett, 19, Roanoke College, VA
"No. I feel that most of the injuries that have happened are
not the fault of a lack of a helmet. A helmet will not protect anyone
who jumps off the equivalent of a building headfirst. There is inherent
risk in this activity and the fact that so many injuries have happened
lately is a statistical anomaly. I think that having a non-concrete
pad under the pit is important, but if you are on the right pole
and have a coach who knows what he is doing, you should land on
the pit. I feel sorrow for those hurt by these tragedies, however,
I see no reason to start suing people, trying to pad the box, trying
to outlaw the vault, or even trying to make the kids wear helmets.
This is an overreaction, not a solution. You don't see people trying
to pad the diving board or make divers wear helmets when Greg Lougainis
hit his head on the board." -Adam Keul, 22, Stephen F.
Austin St. Univ.
"Yes. I have considered it just for the fact that different
PV facilities have different safety measures, and some facilities
have no safety measures. For those pits that are unsafe, I would
consider wearing a helmet." -Jered McGrath, 23, Oregon
Tech, OR
"No. Cracking your head open is a risk all vaulters take.
I tried wearing a helmet and it cramps my style. My vision is limited,
I am weighted down, and my balance is thrown off due to the added
weight and bulkiness of the helmet. I feel that having proper balance
without a helmet is much safer than being off-balance with a helmet.
What good is a helmet if it increases the probability you fall?
Perhaps, in my case, it's difficult to teach an old dog new tricks.
Kids who are taught from day one to wear a helmet might not have
any problems. I wouldn't know." --Christopher Berger, 23
"No. I don't feel that wearing a helmet will make vaulting
a lot safer, I think that it will make people feel safer but then
you have the problem of letting the other things slip. I think the
best thing for the sport is education, the more people know, the
better the coaches are and the better the equipment is and vaulters
just being aware of what can happen is the best." -Ron
Whitten, 19, University of New Hampshire, NH
"No. I don't want to wear something on my head to distract
me or hinder my vaulting. Also, helmets only prevent catastrophic
head injuries and they might inadvertently cause new types of injuries
for pole vaulters." -Laura Duncan, 22, NH
"No. I would only have access to bike or hockey helmets. I
don't know where I could get pole-vaulting helmets and would wonder
if wearing the others would be safe." -Sean Steacy, 15,
Winston Churchill HS, Alberta, Canada
"Yes. Accidents happen and I don't want to die so I might
seriously consider doing so until I become more experienced because
with the exception of Kevin Dare all the pole vault deaths that
I know of were high schoolers with not as much experience."
-Jared Slatter, 17, Churchland HS, VA
"Yes. If it could save my life, I think it is worth it. The
second meet after we were required to wear helmets I stalled out,
hit the front of the mats and landed headfirst into the box. It
could have really hurt me if I didn't have a helmet on." --Eric
Page, 15, Lake Park HS, IL
What new safety measures has your coach taken this season? No
Additional Measures Needed 38.3%, Added Additional Padding Around
the Pit 19.6%, Other 15.9%, Gone to a Camp or Clinic 13.1%, Bought
New Pits 11.2%, Required Helmets 11.2%, Changed Coaching Style 4.7%
"Make sure of equipment, keep standards at a very safe depth,
don't be over aggressive in pole selection to ensure penetration
and a safe descent to the pit" --Zach Hamilton, 20, Wake Forest
"My coach did not change his coaching style, he is just emphasizing
safety more now, and teaching the vaulters how to bail on a vault,
and things like that. We already have pretty big pits, so it wouldn't
help much to get new ones." --Katie Mattingly, 18, Butte HS,
MT
"My coach is one of the best. We use a progression in practice
almost every time. This allows us to establish what type of practice
we are going to have rather than doing something that isn't rational
(like starting on the biggest pole I've ever jumped on, that would
not make any sense)" --Kevin Opalka, 20, University of Arizona
"Nothing has been done. I mention it all the time to the coach...
nothing changes for us." -McKane Lee, 18, Arlington HS,
WA
"He has always made sure we get into the pit safely, and at
meets he won't allow us to jump on poles that would require the
standards being closer than 50 under ANY circumstances." --Joanelle
Bailey-Chandler, 21, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Are your parents more worried about your safety than last year
at this time? Yes 31.1%
"I think they have always been a little worried, but just
never though of helmets as an option." --Molly Loeche, 17 Everett
HS, WA
Have you noticed more vaulters wearing helmets than last year
at this time? Yes 28.8%
Pole Vault Survey
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