PATRIOT POLE VAULT

 

Greetings from the Patriot Pole Vault Club! Got lots of updates regarding new practice facilities, upcoming meets/events and pole vault intro sessions :-) Practices @ Hampshire College For those of you near to Western Massachusetts we are pleased to announce that we are adding practice sessions at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA Hampshire College Robert Crown Center 893 West Street Amherst, MA 01002 The first practice will be on Wednesday 02/14 from 4:00-6:00. The rest are scheduled for 3:00-5:30pm on the following days - Wednesday 02/28, Wednesday 03/06, Wednesday 03/13, Monday 03/18 and Wednesday 03/27. The sessions will be run by Coach Eric Nazar - feel free to contact him with any questions that you have. Please note that spikes are NOT ALLOWED at this facility Upcoming Meets & Events Sunday 02/18 USATF New England Indoor Championships @ Harvard University This year's USATF New England Indoor Championships will be held on Sunday February 18th at Harvard University Meet information Register for the meet on SimplyRegister - Please note that the deadline for registering is 11:59pm on Wednesday 02/14 This meet DOES require USATF membership The women will compete first at 10am (warmups start ~9am) with the men warming up and competing after the women's competition finishes The opening heights will be 2.85 (9'04.25") for the women and 3.55m (11'07/75") for the men - 2.85 / 3.55 If you need poles for this meet we’ll also need to know by 6:00pm on Thursday 02/15 so we can pack them up Sunday 02/18 Patriot PV Winter N.o.0.b Fest @ Brandeis This Sunday 2/18, you are invited to be part of a meet that is primarily aimed at total beginners up through intermediate vaulters. A big goal is for those of you who have never gone over a bar to get a chance to do so!  Registration is required -- please email Coach Than. If it fills up, preference will be given to those with less experience or lower PRs. There will actually be two events, both included for $10 entry fee (paid to Patriot Pole Vault Club). Over Bar Clinic 3-3:45pm. This is optional and mainly intended for those of you who have never cleared an actual bar. I'll warn you now that you'll learn a few things during this that you'll have to unlearn someday, but it's still fun and motivating to clear the actual bar! Mini-Vaultarama 3:45 warmup time for all (with bungee) 4:30 Competition begins! The opening height is 4', and will be all in one mixed-gender flight. The bar will go up 6" at a time, and as always, you can start at whatever height you want. This is a real meet, following all rules, and I'll (eventually) put the results into athletic.net. But don't worry about knowing the rules -- this is where you'll start to learn them! We will most likely mix in some practice attempts while the bar is at each height. Obviously these are not part of the meet results. Spectators are welcome! Wednesday 02/29 Night at The TRACK #3 @ New Balance Track The Night at The TRACK meet #2 is taking place on Wednesday, February 29th at The TRACK at New Balance and it will be having pole vault competitions on 2 pits (split by SEED MARKS not by male/female). Due to the time constraints (3.5 hours - 6:00-9:30) they are limiting the fields to around 15 for each pit. Here's the cool part - it will be by invitational only and we have been selected to provide the list of invitees for the meet. If you are interested in competing at this meet please let me know. Meet information Register for the meet on Simply Register This meet DOES require USATF membership If you are planning on competing at this meet and need us to bring poles please let Coach Doug know by 6:00pm on Tuesday Febraury 27th as we will be packing up the poles later that evening at Brandeis.  The building will open at 6:00pm and the competition will start at 7:00 pm SHARP so get there as close to 6 as you can. Sunday 03/17 Potential Vault Competition during the Tetradecathlon World Championship @ Reggie Lewis We're still in the process of organizing this meet so details are still in the introductory stage. Stay tuned for further details https://www.tetradecathlonwc24.com/ New Vaulter Introductory Session Sunday 02/25 4:00-5:00 @ Brandeis What: Pole Vault Intro. This will be a one hour session to learn safety and vaulting basics. It is intended for people with no experience in the pole vault who want to find out what this awesome event is about.   When: Sunday, 02/25, 4pm-5pm, plus optional vaulting until 6pm Where: Brandeis' Gosman Athletic Center, park here. (Be careful with GPS -- some of them seem to think that 415 South is in a very different place.) Go in the door by the semi-circle driveway and tell the desk person that you're there for pole vault. We're in the far corner of the indoor track. How much does it cost? The entire first day is free. Future practice sessions at Brandeis are $25 each with volume discounts available. What do I need to bring? - Basic workout clothing. - Shoes you can run in. - Patience. The pole vault is the most exciting track event, but the first 45 minutes are about learning very basic movements and safety information. The flying part is near the end! Can parents watch? Absolutely. Better yet, join in and learn how to vault! Who is the instructor? Coach Nathaniel Bogan will be leading this one. "I learned how to pole vault at age 46 -- at a PPV clinic just like this one! -- and at 50 became a Masters All-American. In addition to my PPV affiliation, I coach high jump and pole vault at Natick High School." What are the age limits? There is no formal age limit -- young and old can learn to pole vault! However, it does require staying focused and following instructions for a full hour. Some kids younger than 12 may not be able to do this, so use your judgement. For those on the older end: Stretch, warm up, and listen to your body. We have plenty of older vaulters in our club, and welcome "new old" vaulters! What's next? After completing an introductory session, an athlete can join any Patriot Pole Vault practice at any of our sites. (The first day is unique because so much of it is away from the runway, but thereafter beginning vaulters can share the line with state champions!) For those who wish to go to more PPV practices at Brandeis, you'll need to join USATF and fill out Patriot Pole Vault online forms. (That is not required for the intro session.) What if I already know how to vault? If you have very little experience and/or no more formal coaching, you could join this introduction if you want. But if you're comfortable to do so, you can just sign up for any Patriot Pole Vault practice and join right in! As always if you have any questions regarding any of the information in this e-mail or anything else regarding the club for that matter please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to working with you throughout this indoor season :-)