Penn State pole vault safety partnership has personal touch

It's been a little more than a year since Pennsylvania State University sophomore Kevin Dare died while competing in the pole vault at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships. Two high-school athletes also died last spring while competing in the event.

Penn State and the Dare family have been at the forefront of several pole vault safety initiatives in the past year, including advocating for changes in pole vault equipment.

"We are encouraged with the number of safety initiatives that have been implemented this year," said Tim Curley, Penn State's athletics director. "And we will continue to work with the track and field community to make the event as safe as possible. We have had frank and constructive discussion with many people across the country who share the same strong sentiments we have about this issue."

Shortly after Dare's accident, Curley and Ed Dare, Kevin's father, began discussions on improving the safety of the sport with administrators from the Big Ten, the NCAA, USA Track and Field, the United States Track Coaches Association and other organizations as well as companies that produce pole vault equipment.

Last May, Penn State hosted a summit on pole vault safety, and last summer the pole vault safety subcommittee of the NCAA Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee made several recommendations that were adopted by the NCAA for the 2002-03 indoor track season.

Among the changes adopted by the NCAA was an increase in the size of the landing pad, which previously was required to be a minimum of 16 by 12 feet. The new rule requires that the minimum landing pad width be 19 feet, eight inches, and the minimum landing pad length be 16 feet, five inches from the back of the vaulting box. If the landing pad does not extend to the area immediately around the vaulting box, a box collar of two to four inches of dense foam padding is now required to cover the areas behind and to the side of the vaulting box.

The Big Ten adopted additional safety measures, including a mandatory pole vault safety clinic for college, high-school and junior high-school coaches.

Penn State athletics also is developing a pole vault-specific helmet in partnership with two companies, SkyDex and Enventys. Penn State's college of health and human development's biomechanics lab is testing the prototype design.

"Some very positive steps have been taken to make the sport safer," said Ed Dare. "We are working toward additional measures and equipment changes that will help even more. We appreciate the efforts of so many people for their dedicated involvement with these safety initiatives and look forward to continued progress."

The Dare's family and friends also have created a Web site in Dare's memory that is dedicated to improving the safety of pole vault participants. The site is located at www.VaultForLife.com, and it includes articles on pole vault safety as well as an opportunity for visitors to contribute to the Kevin Dare Pole Vaulting Memorial Scholarship Fund at Penn State.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Number crunching

Looking back

A look at the Division I Men's Basketball Championship in 10-year increments:

1993 -- The Division I Men's Basketball Committee establishes a minimum seating capacity of 12,000 for facilities wishing to host first- and second-round and regional games.

1983 -- An opening round is added to the tournament that requires eight automatic-qualifying conferences to compete for four positions in the 52-team field. This concept permits the committee to retain a 48-team bracket evenly balanced with 24 automatic-qualifiers and 24 at-large selections, yet award automatic qualification to each of the 28 conferences that received it the year before. The 16 top-seeded teams receive byes into the second round.

The 1983 championship also is the first to establish the current date formula of starting the tournament the third weekend in March, conducting regional championships the fourth weekend in March, and playing the semifinal and championship games the following Saturday and Monday, respectively.

1973 -- The Thursday-Saturday format for the semifinals and the championship game changes to Saturday-Monday. In addition, television rights for the tournament exceed $1 million for the first time. NBC reported that the championship game was the highest-rated (20.5 rating) basketball telecast of all time.

1963 -- The NCAA signs a contract with Sports Network for the championship game to be televised nationally. The agreement is for $140,000. Also, for the first time, tournament sites are selected two years in advance.

1953 -- The bracket expands from 16 teams to 22. A rule also is instituted that states teams cannot play in both the NCAA tournament and the National Invitation Tournament.