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Had a very windy track meet last saturday. Had to make a number of calls on whether the wind blew the pole back and knocked off the bar. I called one no good and the coach contested. He claimed that the vaulter properly released the pole because she fully extended her arm. I guess that could have been true but with her arm fully extended the pole was still leaning toward the bar. I have searched for over an hour trying to find something that confirmed what the coach was saying but have not seen anything. Anyone want to chime in on what a "properly Released" pole should look like?

This something that should be talked with a licensed official about. You'll get some varying answers here. You should find an official at the beginning of a meet and get input about it then.

8. When it is clear that the bar has been displaced by a force not associated with the
competitor (e.g., a gust of wind)
(a) If such displacement occurs after the competitor has cleared the bar without
touching it, the attempt shall be considered successful, and
(b) If such displacement occurs under any other circumstances, a new attempt will be
awarded.
NOTE: It is a foul if the crossbar is displaced by the pole hitting the crossbar unless
in the judge’s opinion, an effort was made by the competitor to push the pole away
from the crossbar when the athlete released the pole.

This is what I found from USATF 2016 Competition Rules PDF.

I've also seen where the vaulter has made a clear attempt to throw the pole back but bounces back because of the new box collar and that is awarded as a successful jump.

Hopefully this helped out.
Linked to the PDF: http://www.usatf.org/usatf/files/08/088 ... f33fcc.pdf

-Trey