2007 Pole Vault Summit draws another huge and diverse crowd

[rainbowgirl28]

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic ... 018/SPORTS

Annual Pole Vault Summit draws another huge and diverse crowd
GARRETT HYLTON
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 1/21/2007


LIZ MARGERUM/RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Arkansas State’s Adam Sarafian is congratulated by Kellie Suttle after completing a 17-foot, 6-inch vault Saturday during the Pole Vault Summit.


On the Web
Visit rgj.com for a video from Saturday's Pole Vault Summit and to see an interview with Brad Walker, the World Indoor Pole Vaulting Champion.


It's the national Mecca for pole vaulters of all ages -- part competition, part seminar and part family reunion.
It's the National Pole Vault Summit, which started Friday at the Grand Sierra Resort and ended Saturday.
More than 2,200 vaulters and coaches attended this year's event, which, according to co-director Bob Fraley, makes the National Pole Vaulting Summit the sport's largest gathering worldwide.
The event is for all kinds of vaulters -- from beginning junior high children to college vaulters to Olympic gold medalists and national champions.
"This is the only one of its kind," said Sean Brown, who was recognized at the summit for his raising awareness and enthusiasm toward pole vaulting with his documentary "Neo Vault 3 -- The Reckoning." "It's the gathering of the tribe."
One of the vaulters who mixed it up on the runways was Nadine O'Connor. At nearly 65 years of age, she didn't quite fit the same profile as the dozens of college vaulters jumping around her.
A decathlete from Del Mar, Calif., O'Connor was trying to break her own world record for her age group this weekend.
She didn't quite make a new mark, but she enjoyed competing with different-aged women from all over the country.
"It's wonderful that they put up with me," O'Connor said jokingly. "I'm a little embarrassed. I don't think they really pay attention, quite honestly. They're friendly and they're nice, but everybody's doing their own thing. It is great."
April Steiner helped out just a few pits down from where O'Connor was vaulting.
She vaulted Friday in the elite competition, and set two personal bests on the way to a second-place finish. Steiner was an alternate on the 2004 Olympic team and is looking to make the '08 Olympic team.
After just missing out on the 2004 Olympic team, she took home the top prize in another competition -- she won $50,000 on the television show "Fear Factor." By walking the plank on a pirate ship and eating maggot mashed potatoes, Steiner helped fund her training for making the team that goes to Beijing next summer.
"It (not making the 2004 team) did light my fire," said Steiner, who teaches physical education to seventh graders. "It made me really want to refocus my training. I rebalanced everything out. My living situation and coaching are all really stable and I think that's why I'm starting to peek again and get back up to those high numbers."
At the summit, high school pole vaulters can walk up to some of the best pole vaulters in the world and get autographs, chat or even get some lessons to take home.
One of the vaulters sharing his secrets this weekend was 2004 Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack. He didn't jump this weekend because he's still rehabbing after tearing his labrum, but still enjoyed getting together with young vaulters and some of his peers.
"The Pole Vault Summit is something I've been doing almost since it started," Mack said. "Even though I'm injured, this is a great opportunity to share with the younger kids, to get a lot of the elite athletes together. We kind of bounce ideas off of each other trying to further our scores."
Mack said that aside from the clinic aspect of the summit, getting so many elite vaulters in one place to compete helped him get to the highest level of his sport.
"I think over the years you see other guys jumping high," Mack said. "You get in a group and you never want to be the lowest guy on the totem pole. You're here and everybody else is here and you get to see what everybody else is doing. So I think over the years you knew what you had to do to get better and be the best."
Mack's been coming to the summit for the last 10 years. He wasn't attending the event when it started in Fresno, Calif., in 1988, but he does remember staying at a Holiday Inn and walking every day to the Reno Livestock Events Center along with a couple hundred others.
The family has grown a bit since then.

[OUvaulterUSAF]

Pretty exciting time. I hadn't been since I think 1998 when it was in the rodeo center. Really enjoyed some of the speakers. I must admit I got a little cynical with over using the term 'pole speed' and any vaulter that didn't make it past the front bun I'd say, "he/she obviously didn't have enough pole speed."

Although putting an east coaster in the late group at 7:45pm...which because of the back log ended up being a 9pm (12 am EST) start time, wasn't as exciting.

[vault3rb0y]

That reminds me, any thoughts on whether it will be in the same place next year?? I heard since there are so many renevations being done they might not have it there.

[rainbowgirl28]

That reminds me, any thoughts on whether it will be in the same place next year?? I heard since there are so many renevations being done they might not have it there.

It will almost certainly be in the same location. The room rates will probably start going up though, but you all will continue to get a discount over what normal people pay.