The NCAA Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee has proposed several rules changes intended to reduce the risk of injury in the pole vault event. Many safety standards already have been in place, but the committee reviewed pole vault rules because of concerns raised after several injuries and deaths in the sport in recent months.

At its annual meeting June 16-19 in Indianapolis, the committee voted to increase the minimum pole vault landing pad measurement beyond the vault box to 6 meters wide by 5 meters deep (19 feet, 8 inches by 16 feet, 5 inches). The minimum has been 4.88 meters by 3.66 meters (16 feet by 12 feet).

"Many NCAA institutions already have landing pads that far exceeded the previous minimum and already meet the new dimensions," said committee Chair Diane Howell, associate athletics director at the University of Houston.

The committee also voted to make the front portion of the landing pad the same width as the back portion. That standard is 6 meters (19 feet, 8 inches), and it must extend a minimum of 1.83 meters (6 feet) forward (toward the runway) from the back edge of the vaulting box. If the front landing pad does not extend to the area immediately around the vaulting box, a padded collar of 2 to 4 inches of uniform thickness must cover the area behind and to the sides of the vaulting box that is not protected by the landing pad. The collar padding must not affect the bend of the pole.

The committee also proposed making mandatory a rule to require that suitable padding be placed around the base of the standards that hold the bar. Padding of the standards has been a recommendation in the rules book.

"These rules should prevent almost all competitors who fail to reach the main landing pad from falling onto a hard or unyielding surface," Howell said.

Competitors also will be prohibited from moving the standards more than 45 centimeters (18 inches) to the inside edge of the top of the box in the direction of the runway.

"Restricting the movement of the standards is intended to ensure that competitors reach the landing pad after their attempts," said Margaret Simmons, secretary-rules editor of the track and field committee and assistant athletics director at Murray State University.

In addition, the practice of tapping -- assisting the competitor at takeoff -- will be prohibited during warm-ups and competition. Failure to adhere to this prohibition will result in immediate disqualification from the competition for the assisted athlete.

"The committee does not want vaulters to rely on the physical assistance of anyone to get off the ground, especially at a competition site," said Simmons.

Simmons said that several of the proposals have been recommended by the United States Track Coaches Association Pole Vault Safety Task Force. The committee also drew from the experience of the USA Track and Field/
ASTM International Pole Vault Facilities and Equipment Task Group. ASTM International provides a forum for developing voluntary consensus standards.

"The track and field committee is grateful to both of the groups for their valuable input that enabled us to make informed and responsible decisions," she said.

Proposed rules changes must be approved through the NCAA divisional governance structure operating in its oversight role of rules involving participant safety, financial impact and the image of the sport. Proposed changes also are reviewed by the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports in its oversight role of rules involving the safety of student-athletes.

Among the other rules approved by the committee were:

Recommending that for facilities constructed after January 1, 2003, that the hurdle at the water jump be firmly fixed in front of the water (that is, at the 12-foot position), and be capable of upward and downward movement.

Allowing for races to be started as a result of the starter activating an electron tone, together with an electronic flash/strobe. A pistol start still is permitted.

Providing for the transponder (chip) system to be used for the official meet results in cross country races.

Other highlights

Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee
June 16-19/Indianapolis

In addition to the joint committee actions described in the accompanying article, the committee's division subcommittees took the following actions:

Division I

Recommended John Kane, senior associate athletics director at Boston College, as chair of the committee, effective September 1, 2002.

Voted to experiment with a designated official video in the 2003 indoor and outdoor championships.

Began setting the schedule of events and technical information for the 2003 regional qualifying meets and the expanded national championships.

Set May 19 as the final day to qualify for the 2003 regional meets.

Added an outdoor qualifying standard for the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with the water jump hurdle in the 10-foot position.

Recommended the University of Texas at Austin as the host for the 2004 outdoor championships, subject to the approval of the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet.

Division II

Voted to resubmit a request to the Division II Championships Committee for the addition of the 200-meter dash and distance medley relay in the indoor championships.

Spearheaded a proposal to solicit scientific research regarding indexing of indoor tracks.

Added new outdoor qualifying standards for the men's and women's mile run, and the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase (with the water jump hurdle in the 10-foot position).

Implemented serpentine seeding to balance flights in the field events for the indoor and outdoor championships.

Eliminated the qualifying round for the 5,000-meter run at the outdoor championships.

Division III

Recommended a proposal to the Division III Championships Committee that will offer either transportation costs or a stipend for teams who travel over 500 miles to compete at cross country regional meets, beginning in 2004.

Discussed changing the date of the cross country regional meets to one week earlier, and decided to solicit feedback from coaches.

Recommended the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, as the host for the 2004 indoor championships, subject to the approval of the Division III Championships Committee.

Voted that the times for preliminary races at the indoor and outdoor championships will not be posted electronically until the start of the last preliminary race in that event.

Voted that in finals only may a running time be posted electronically during the race.

Voted that the final period to make challenges of athletes' performances will be during the entry period of noon Sunday to noon Monday for the indoor and outdoor championships.

Designated Monday from 8-10 p.m. to be the period for field selection clarification and question for the indoor and outdoor championships.

Agreed that one credential will be issued upon request before the championships to each competing institution's sports information staff, and that this person must be an employee of the institution.

Voted that only coaches and athletics administrators will be allowed in the packet pick-up area. Student-athletes will not be allowed.

Determined that if an institution has been assessed a fine for failure to follow entry procedures, it will not receive its championships packet until the fine is paid.

Playing rules changes

In addition to the rules changes discussed in the accompanying article, other major rules changes are listed below in the order in which the change will appear in the 2003 rules book.

In Rule 1-5-1, changed the color of the vaulting box from white to a contrasting color from the runway.

In Rule 2-6-3, changed the length of the pegs on which the pole vault crossbar rests from 75 millimeters to 55 millimeters.

Deleted Rule 3-6 on Jury of Appeals and added those responsibilities to the Games Committee in Rule 3-3.

The following sentence will be added to Rule 4-2-4: "The use of additional numbers affixed to the uniform to aid in the placing of competitors in a race shall be at the direction of the clerk of the course so that proper logos are not obscured and uniform requirements are observed."

In Rule 5-5-3-g, the referee, after consulting with the appropriate officials, shall disqualify a competitor who is paced or assisted by lapped competitors or those about to be lapped.

Language was added to Rule 7-2-1, clarifying the proper positions for wind gauges, the places on the runway from where wind velocity is to be measured, and the correct reading of wind velocity.

The following was added at the end of Rule 7-2-4: "Throwing implements must be verified by the referee or implement inspector that they were certified before competition (that is, check for the identifying mark), and recertified after record performances."

A new article was added for cross country, which will be Rule 8-4-2: "In addition to the approved fully automatic timing system, an officially designated video or photograph may be used to determine the order of finish." Rules 8-4-2 and 8-4-3 from the 2002 book will be renumbered accordingly.

Rule 8-4-5 was added: "The use of a finish corral to aid in meet administration is recommended at all cross country meets in which the transponder (chip) timing system is used."

Rule 10-4-2 was changed to: "The 800 meters, 1,000 meters and 3,200-meter relay shall start and continue in lanes or alleys until at least the end of the first turn, if the number of competitors exceeds the number of lanes on the track."

Rule 10-4-4 was changed to: "In individual races longer than 1,000 meters, and the distance medley relay, all groups shall use a waterfall or alley start, which may be staggered, if the number of competitors exceeds the number of lanes on the track."

The order of the articles in Rule 10-9 will be: Article 1 -- Head (changed from Ball); Article 2 -- Handle (changed from Grip); Article 3 -- Connection; Article 4 -- Specifications; Article 5 -- Harness; Article 6 -- Competition (changed from Legal Throw).

Rule 10-9-2 will be as follows: "The handle shall be made of a round metal rod formed into a triangle with no sides exceeding an inside measurement of 19 centimeters (7.5 in.) nor less than 10 centimeters (4 in.). A handle with no permanent connection point must have all sides of the same length. The handle must be rigid and not show evidence of elasticity or malformation while the implement is being thrown."