University Wire
02-20-2003
(Minnesota Daily) (U-WIRE) MINNEAPOLIS -- The infield at the University of
Minnesota Field House looks no different than it did one year ago. It is
still the same cluttered blob of long jump pits, shot put areas and high
jump mats as it was last February.
But just under the pole vault landing area, a two-inch thick foam pad covers
the edges of the metal planting box.
And that foam collar, its red vinyl the same color as some of the flowers
that lined the pole vault pit last year, tells the whole story.
Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Kevin Dare, a Penn
State pole vaulter who fell and hit his head on the box while attempting a
vault of 15-7 at the Big Ten indoor track and field championships in the
Field House.
At the time of the accident, Dr. Elizabeth Arendt, the Gophers medical
director who rode with the 19-year-old Dare to the hospital, said he died of
massive head trauma.
Eighteen pole vaulters have died since 1985.
But it was Dare's death and a father's resolve that began a nationwide
crusade for pole vault safety.
Ed Dare, Kevin's father, worked with the American Society for Testing and
Materials on a helmet made specifically for vaulters, which will likely be
finished with testing on Thursday.
"It's like Kevin's pushing me," he said. "We're never going to stop the
sport from being dangerous, but we certainly can make it where you're not
going to die."
TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
Dare's new helmet, which is made out of Kevlar -- the same material used for
bulletproof vests -- will likely be on the market this summer. It is just
one piece of a major push toward safer vaulting equipment.
Improvements are being made on the ground as well. Currently, a collar can
be placed over the box's edges. However, a collar leaves about a
five-centimeter strip of metal in the middle of the box exposed -- exactly
where Dare hit his head.
Gill Athletics, one of the nation's largest suppliers of track and field
equipment, last week released a "soft box" -- a cushioned planting area that
eliminates all hard surfaces.
Made of Skydex, a synthetic material, a soft box reduces the impact of a
fall in the box by approximately two-thirds.
"A fall from 17 feet 6 inches onto a soft box is like falling on a standard
box from four feet," said Illinois pole vault coach Brian Carell, who also
works for Gill as a sales representative. "If you fall on it, you're going
to hit pretty hard, but it's a significant improvement."
Jan Johnson, the chairman of U.S.A. Track and Field's pole vault safety
committee, spoke highly of the new equipment, but still doubts whether any
of it could have saved Dare.
"We've been through five versions of the soft box, but will we ever be able
to design a box that saved Kevin Dare's life? Probably not," Johnson said.
"I don't know if you can fall from 16 feet and not break your neck."
Johnson, who blames the fall on improper coaching and Dare's technique,
helped to form the Pole Vault Safety Certification Board, which offers an
online test to certify any American pole vault coach in teaching the event.
MAKING THE SPORT SAFE
The Big Ten adopted several new pole vault regulations in August, including
the extension of the landing pad and the mandatory use of box collars.
Additionally, the National Federation of State High School Associations now
requires the use of deeper landing pads to decelerate landings.
Jesus Quesada, a 16-year-old from Clewiston, Fla., and Samoa Fili II, a
17-year-old at Wichita Southeast High School, both died last spring after
bouncing off the landing pad and hitting their heads on pavement.
But Ed Dare is not stopping here. He's not going to quit until he closes the
fraternity he shares with Quesada and Fili's fathers.
Dare hears the arguments that new equipment could price pole vaulting out of
existence, making it too expensive for the tight budgets most track programs
carry.
A box collar retails for around $300, while advanced landing systems cost
approximately $12,750. The soft box is selling for $3,000.
Dare believes safety is worth any price.
"I've had so many people ask me if this new equipment is too costly, but
unless you've lost your best friend like I have, you can't understand it,"
he said. "If the schools say the equipment is too costly, then do away with
the sport. It's not fair to expose athletes to danger without taking care of
them."
Dare said before his son died, he didn't even know pole vaulting had
produced fatalities.
He's not letting anyone forget it now.
"I've had some pretty emotional discussions with coaches about making the
sport safe," said Dare, who estimates he talked to about 200 high school and
college coaches over the past year. "It would be easier on me if I didn't do
this, but it's what Kevin would have wanted.
"If somebody had asked these questions years ago, my son would have lived."
REMEMBERING KEVIN DARE
Minnesota's men's track team will host the Snowshoe Open on Friday night,
but coach Phil Lundin said no ceremony for Dare is planned at the meet.
Lundin added there are no plans for a permanent memorial to Dare in the
Field House.
Vault coach Mario Sategna agreed with Lundin's decision.
"We had a memorial the day after the meet last year, and for us to have
another one would open up more wounds," Sategna said. "We've been in contact
with Penn State, and it's not like we've forgotten."
The box collar in the Field House proves it.
"It's hard to remember and look back on last year. My family and I are
definitely not looking forward to this weekend," Dare said. "This work keeps
bringing back that day, but my gratification will come when I can look at
the sport and it's safe."
There is no memorial to Kevin Dare in the Field House. But there is a red
box collar in the pole vault area that wasn't there on Feb. 23, 2002.
And for Ed Dare, that's enough.