High School Pole Vaulting Rules

Pole-vaulting, which originally measured distance as opposed to height, became a full-medal men and women's Olympic event in 1896 and 2000, respectively. It requires a competitor to propel over a bar set at a specified height using a long, flexible pole. These poles can be made from carbon or fiberglass, and must be designed to regulatory specifications to be used in high school-level competition. There are a number of high school pole-vaulting rules to regulate both safety and fair play, and before track and field meets it is the duty of the referee to meet with the coaches and answer any questions concerning rules.

  1. Warm-ups

    • After the poles to be used in competition are examined and approved, pole-vaulting warm-ups are prohibited unless a coach or official supervises them. This is to ensure no illegal poles are swapped in. Also during warm-ups, only regulation poles can be used, which means no training poles. Once the event has concluded, no more practicing is allowed.

    Uniform & Clothing Regulations

    • In high school pole-vaulting, school-issued uniforms must be worn throughout the event. All visible clothing underneath must be of a single color and cannot have knots or other protrusions. For health safety reasons, uniforms cannot have blood on them. The wearing of jewelry is prohibited during competition, unless it is religious jewelry, in which it must be taped securely to the body. Putting tape on the fingers or hands is prohibited, unless it is used to cover cuts or other open wounds.

    Pole Regulations

    • At the high school level, poles used in competition must have a 1-inch circular band that indicates the location of the top hand position. There are also must be a patch, three-quarters of an inch in size, that indicates pole weight. Pole bindings, which are usually made with adhesive tape, can be no more than two layers thick. If one layer overlaps another by more than half, it is considered a double-layer. The weight of the pole-vaulter must match or be below the pole rating given by the manufacturer.

    Time Restrictions

    • In standard high school pole-vaulting, competitors are allowed 1 1/2 minutes to complete a jump. Once the number of remaining competitors reaches two or three, four minutes is allowed. When there is just one pole-vaulter left, he or she will be allowed six minutes to complete a jump.

    Special Conditions

    • If a competitor makes three consecutive successful jumps, he or she is allowed one practice jump. However, an attempt then must be made at the same height as the practice jump. In standard competition, the bar is not allowed to be lowered, except in the case of a tie in which a jump-off is necessary. Competitors are not allowed to use wireless communication devices during the event.