Short Pegs At U.S. Championships

[gh]

Jeff Hartwig won the USATF vault title at 18-8.25 (5.70). That's the meet's first sub-19 winner since '93 and lowest winning height in the climactic U.S. meet since '83.

Sure glad the IAAF doesn't think that the new pegs are radically changing the nature of the event.

[tafnut]

Re: Short Pegs At U.S. Championships

Since TV showed so much of the men's event at USATF (not), was it really just the case of people brushing the bar and it came down, when it would have stayed up previously? And what input did actual Pole Vaulters have in the decision to alter the pegs? And, supposing they did not, why not? Isn't there an athletes' advisory panel that can appeal this sort of rule change?

Re: Short Pegs At U.S. Championships

>Since TV showed so much of the men's event at
>USATF (not), was it really just the case of
>people brushing the bar and it came down, when it
>would have stayed up previously? And what input
>did actual Pole Vaulters have in the decision to
>alter the pegs? And, supposing they did not, why
>not? Isn't there an athletes' advisory panel that
>can appeal this sort of rule change?

Yea, it kinda seems the the IAAF just does whatever it wants sometimes, and as a result messing with the event it changes. I can appreciate thier idea for making pole vault harder by shortening the pegs and making it more competitive, but if its going to be impossible for people to be going over 19 consistently with the new pegs, you have to question their motives. And it doesn't seem like it is more competitive, it seems the same, while now jumping over lower heights.

[polevaultpower]

Re: Short Pegs At U.S. Championships

The rational has always been to speed the event up and make it more fan friendly. The reality is that it is both slowing the event down and making it less fan friendly.

The new combination of crossbar ends and shorter pegs makes the bar harder to put up and more likely to fall down when adjusting the standards.

The general public does not like to see the bar fall down. The average fan loves to see a guy bang the heck out of the bar and have it stay up. That is more exciting than someone who barely, but cleanly, clears the bar.

If they really wanted to make the competitions go faster, they just need to limit the size of the fields, and/or increase the increments by which the bar is raised.