The pole vault will no longer be a scored event at Maryland Public
Secondary Schools Athletic Association indoor and outdoor track
meets.
The MPSSAA Executive Council voted a week ago to individualize the
pole vault competition, meaning that medals will still be awarded to
individuals at regional and state meets, but points will not be
credited toward team scores.
The action to de-emphasize the event by Maryland is the first in
the country, according to Cynthia Doyle, track and field coordinator
for the National Federation of High School Associations. Prompted by
the death of two high school and one collegiate pole vaulter last
year, the federation voted in June to require schools to increase the
size of landing mats by more than 16 square feet.
That change left many state schools without adequate mats, and the
padding is costly to replace -- between $6,500 and $8,000, according
to the NFHSA.
"There are a whole myriad of problems associated with it," said
Ned Sparks, executive secretary of the MPSSAA. "If there is an answer
to it, we will try to find it, but at this point in time, it's kind
of an event that's taken on a lot of expense and danger, and it's
something that maybe needs to be reviewed."