Survey of 57 coaches and 107 vaulters
by Becca Gillespy
DyeStat correspondent
5/31/02 -- This year the pole vault community was rocked by 3 deaths
in less than a
month and a half. Coaches and athletes alike began to take a hard
look at
pole vault safety. The sport had not suffered any deaths since 1998,
and to
have 3 deaths in such a short time was a terrible blow to everyone.
We surveyed coaches and athletes about various
aspects of pole vault safety. We obtained responses from 57 coaches
and
107 vaulters of all levels.
The question that has come up the most in the
media is whether or not pole vaulters should be required to wear
helmets.
The coaches surveyed coached a total of 894 vaulters, of which 7.8%
wore
helmets at least part of the time. Of the vaulters surveyed, 14.0%
wore
helmets at least some of the time. When asked if the recent tragedies
had
made them reconsider whether or not to wear helmets, only 35.4%
of coaches and
28.7% of athletes said yes When asked why not, many coaches and
athletes expressed concern
over increased neck injuries with the helmet, creating a false sense
of
security, and concerns that helmets are simply a band-aid, but would
not solve the problem.
Parents and administrators have been concerned as well: 30.4% of
coaches
surveyed reported parents expressing more concerns while 31.5% reported
administrations being concerned. 31.1% of vaulters said their parents
were
more concerned about their safety and 28.8% said they noticed more
vaulters
wearing helmets than last year.
So what should be done to increase pole vault safety? An
overwhelming majority of coaches, 93.1%, said increase awareness
of safe vaulting among
coaches. 65.5% said to improve the padding surrounding the pit,
63.8% said
better enforcement of current rules regarding pit size and padding,
and 56.9%
said increase pit size. In the minority were 39.7% who were in favor
of a
rule requiring vaulters to land in the middle of the pit, 34.5%
who gave
another suggestion, and 15.5% who were in favor of new rules regarding
poles.
Read on for more statistics and comments from the surveys.
57 Coaches
107 Athletes
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