WHEN I WAS 17, I tried pole vaulting. I was on the high school track team and nobody was using our only pole that day, so I gave it a whirl.
On the first couple of tries, I thought I might impale myself. Once I ended up in the grass at the edge of the pit. Another time or two I only made it halfway up before falling backward onto the track. I felt lucky to walk away on my own power.
It occurred to me that vaulting involved two things my mother always warned against: running with pointy objects and jumping from high places.
That's when I made the decision that pole vaulting was an event for daredevils and madmen.
In the ensuing years, I never changed my mind. It's still dangerous business, not for the faint of heart. Now I know it's not for the brave, either.
The basis for my opinion is that three teenagers — two in high school and one in college — have died in vaulting mishaps this year. Published reports say a total of 20 vaulters have died since 1980. That isn't surprising, when considering that after crossing the bar they descend from heights of nearly two stories.
This isn't insinuating officials have ignored the danger. In 1995, more stringent rules regarding vaulting were adopted by the National Federation of High Schools. Among the improvements were more padding around the landing pit and restrictions on how high on the pole a vaulter may grasp. Vaulters are also restricted from using poles designed for lighter athletes, in order to spring themselves over the bar.
The chairman of USA Track and Field's pole vault safety committee told the Los Angeles Times that since 1995 there have been nine "catastrophic" injuries involved in vaulting, and all came at facilities not in compliance with safety standards. Likewise, of 24 cases in the previous seven years, each occurred at a facility that wouldn't have met with 1995 regulations.
There is even a move afoot to require all vaulters to wear a helmet. So there's work being done.
Meanwhile, people are dying. Even if helmets are standardized, it may not be enough when it comes to falling 15 to 20 feet. A helmet won't prevent a broken neck, back or collapsed lung. That's a high price to pay for competition.
Safety measures don't come cheap, either. Already cash-strapped schools could face costly improvements. Costs can range from $1,500 for modular sections to up to $10,000 for a new pit. There could be more expense if schools are required to hire expert vaulting coaches.
This isn't to say pole vaulting will disappear. No matter how dangerous a sport, there will always be someone willing to try it. Evel Knievel was living proof of that. But that doesn't mean schools should sanction them.
Most sports involve risk, but it would be hard to find one riskier than vaulting. The athletes are left exposed, head to toe. It should be assigned the same status as other "extreme" sports that aren't supported by schools, such as ice climbing, cliff-diving, skyboarding and street luge. Schools that continue to have vaulters on their teams are at increasing risk of lawsuits. The parents of a California vaulter killed in 1997 sued the school district for wrongful death. That case was settled out of court.
I have a friend who fell off his roof and landed in the snow; now he's paralyzed. A sport that includes free-falling that far isn't safe, no matter how much padding is involved. Wearing a helmet is good, but it's like wearing sunscreen during a marathon — it only alleviates one problem.
The Utah High School Activities Association recently voted to sanction girls pole vault by making the event co-educational. That's a good thing, in that it allows equal opportunity. Better still would be to ban it from high school competition, or at least urge the NFHS to do so. In fact, the principals in one Utah region have already voted 3-2 to eliminate pole vaulting from track and field meets.
Some sports — those populated by daredevils and thrill-seekers — are just more prone to serious risk. That being the case, proponents should find alternative ways to compete, other than as sanctioned events, supported by schools. They can also pay the accompanying insurance premiums.
E-MAIL: rock@desnews.com