I'm not getting into the pit

[Maine Vaulter]

Hey all,
Im jumping 11'6" but I'm not getting very deep into the pit. my standards are at 13". Im 6'3" 175 jumping on a 13'7" Im capping the pole. any help is greatly appreciated

[TheBigMastodon]

I had the same problem. I moved my grip down and that fixed it.

[vault3rb0y]

your hand grip is at 13'7 or you are on a 13'7 pole?? Either way, you just want to hold down lower or get a softer pole, holding lower is better though, until you are jumping at least 10 inches over your handhold.

[nitro]

in all cases moving the grip down helps get into the pit.... also is 13 inches legal?

[Maine Vaulter]

lol no its not legal.... no one ever notices except at usatf meets, then im screwed lol....if I drop my hand down wont that make it harder to gett a good bend?

[nitro]

im not that good in school and i dont know the physics for it but when you lower your grip it will help you get in.... your pole might be over bending and not letting you get in i think it has something to do with less radius on the pole... but just try it and tell me how it goes... what is your pole weight rated?

[vault3rb0y]

yea but a huge bend isnt always the best thing to get into the pit, because all that does is make the pole shoot you that much higher. It wont bend as much, but you will move through the pit quicker and it will spring you more. More one handhold at a time down the pole, and you will feel the difference.

[Maine Vaulter]

ok ....I'll try that at camp, my season ended a few days ago so i'll have to wait a couple of weeks to try that. my pole is a 180 without a sail piece.... I wonder if that is part of the problem, thank you to everyone who posted

[nitro]

um.... how is there no sail peice

[vault3rb0y]

lol um.... whats a sailpeice??
i probably know of it from a different word

[Maine Vaulter]

thats just the way the pole is made. the sail piece is the top part of the pole on most poles that bends like a j my pole will bend the whole length like a c thats what my coach told me anyway.... I hadnt heard of anything like that until I got the pole

[nitro]

its the thing that makes the pole bend in a certain area