tell me this isn't true: article in LA Times today about how the pole vault has been dropped all over the US

That actually seems like a good way for a lot of schools, especially smaller ones, to let their athletes vault. PV is a pretty expensive and resource-heavy event--lots of safety equipment and knowldge needed--and many can't afford it. And PV is one event where you really can't skimp on safety.

As for javelin, I know that there are a lot of states that don't sponser it.

Captain Spalding wrote:

PV is a pretty expensive and resource-heavy event--lots of safety equipment and knowldge needed--and many can't afford it. And PV is one event where you really can't skimp on safety.

I can see why a lot of districts wouldn't carry it. And lawsuits do get out of hand a lot of times. However, if I had a kid on a track team polevaulting and the coach had little/no experience, you can bet the school should get sued if something happened.

Hard to get off. wrote:

In North Carolina, there is no Javelin. There is also no Hammer.

They throw javelin in junior olympics in NC. It's dumb that they don't throw it in high school. A 13-year-old is responsible enough to throw it in the summer but an 18-year-old is not in the spring.

in this days of instant, instructional coaching through dvds and videos, readily available from experts, there is no excuse for not having the pole vault, high jump or javelin other than laziness of the coaching staff and/or volunteers. In the 50s, 60's, 70's and 80s, many assistant track coaches who were otherwise math teachers, science teachers, etc., learned how to coach these events through Track and Field New's "Track Technique" magazines. So I don't buy all of the excuses, today.

fmr wrote:

In MD the pole vault was dropped from state meet scoring

Real nice, considering this is the same state that is entertaining lawsuits to let that wheelchair girl score in the state meet. The PC Police win again!

doctor doctor wrote:

Captain Spalding wrote:

PV is a pretty expensive and resource-heavy event--lots of safety equipment and knowldge needed--and many can't afford it. And PV is one event where you really can't skimp on safety.

I can see why a lot of districts wouldn't carry it. And lawsuits do get out of hand a lot of times. However, if I had a kid on a track team polevaulting and the coach had little/no experience, you can bet the school should get sued if something happened.

you guys are sorry, excuse makers. (or liability lawyers)

At the high school and sometimes college level, coaches want "bang for their buck", so I think the decline in participation is due more to economics, rather than liability, though I'm sure both factor into the equation. If the schools can't afford to buy equipment, the event sort of fades away. Not sure about the cost/durability of a javalin, but it wasn't an event at the HS level where I grew up.

In college, our coach never recruited pole vaulters. They could score a maximum of 10 points per meet, and they'd break 5 to 10 poles a season at $200+ each. (Saw a guy from another school break 3 poles in one meet.) Just wasn't "cap friendly" for a small school with a limited budget. When we went out of town to meets, we also had a $5 limit on meals, so that tells you how tight our coach was.

My freshman year in HS (25+ years ago) the pole vault pit was wooden palets for the base and big mesh bags of foam piled 3+ feet deep for the padding. Later they splurged for a real pit.