Pole-Vault Equipment

By Kris Wood

Image by Kris Wood

At a glance, it seems all the equipment that is needed for is a pole. The bare necessities for pole-vaulting is just the pole and yourself, but there are a few more things that the athletes should use to keep them safer. The first piece of equipment that is commonly used to keep an athlete safer is a bike helmet. Yes I said it, a bike helmet. The reason is a very straight forward, to protect your head when jumping. I personally have not every jumped with a helmet because I think it looks silly and it would get in the way. This is probably a bad excuse for why I never worn one, but that is why. The most important piece of equipment that a pole-vaulter uses is their pole. When jumping, the athlete is putting full trust into the pole and hoping it does not break. The quality of pole is important because the force that is put into the pole is immense and if it is not good quality, it will snap. I have personally had this happen to me, a pole breaking. It was due to the fact that the pole had a small scratch in it and I did not check it adequately before jumping. Luckily I did not have any injuries, only scared me a little. This further proves the point that good quality equipment is required. Poor quality does not allow the vaulter to jump safely or jump high.