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Thank you to everyone who participated and helped at the summer meets hosted by FDA at Armstrong HS.  Our goal is to offer flexible co-ed competitions that are run by hired workers and run the meets with a variety of formats and styles.  Though I heard only good things, any suggestions re: how to improve the meets for next summer would be appreciated.  

The meets for now though are done and the pits are put away.

We will be offering Sunday morning club practices starting in October I think and continuing them through to March.  We are working on the details and will post when we know more.

Have a great august/sept.

Steve

[--The meet progresses as a normal meet for each person--Each vaulter is allowed one "Mulligan" (one time fourth attempt)]

Hello vaulters

Here's this week's format--"Rolling Start with a Mulligan"
--The pits will be open at 4pm and will close at 8pm.
--Each vaulter is allowed unlimited warm-up jumps (1 warm-up bar)
--We will run it as a "rolling start"--when you're ready, you begin
--Each vaulter chooses the bar heights he/she starts at
--The meet progresses as a normal meet for each person
--Each vaulter is allowed one "Mulligan" (one time fourth attempt)
--The cost is $10 to compete, and $5 more if you want to use our complete line of poles.
--Workers will be hired to set bars and standards for the athletes.

--Top male and Top female will be considered our two winners and be returned their $10 entry fee (as a prize)


Everyone is welcome, call if questions
Steve

soon....

[1st Brandon Johnson, AATC, 12'3, 94.44%]

Hello Vaulters
Here are the meet results from last week

1st Brandon Johnson, AATC, 12'3, 94.44% Prize winner
2nd Monica Stearns, FDA, 11'9, 91.82% Prize Winner
3rd Dan Frette, FDA, 12'9, 91.10%
4th Steve White (Left), FDA, 9'9, 88.96%
5th Liz Robertson, FDA, 9'9, 88.69%
6th Pat Hagel, FDA, 13'3, 88.21%
7th Caroline White, FDA, 10'9, 88.17%
8th Kurt Riska (8 step), FDA, 13'3, 85.41%
9th Steve White (8 Step), FDA, 13'3, 85.41%
10th Bob Cahow, Stout, 12'9, 84.93%
--Lou Casselius, Stout, nh        
--Pat Doty, Stout, nh
--Andrew Smith, Stout, nh    
--Carrie Hinners, AATC, nh
--Bobby, AATC, nh
--Owen Kingstadt, FDA, nh
--Chris Milton, FDA, nh

Thanks to all who showed up

We will try to have these meets continue through August
Steve

Hello Vaulters

We hosted the first of many wednesday night meets at Armstrong High School.  (13) vaulters competed.  We ran the meet "classic" style, though the format will change from meet to meet

Here was the format for this meet
--The pits opened at 4pm and were closed at 8pm.
--Each vaulter was allowed unlimited warm-up and ( competition bars that counted.  Each vaulter chose the bar heights he/she jumped at.  
--The competition was scored as a percentage of the American age-group record.
--The cost was $10 to compete, and $5 more if you wanted to use our complete line of poles.
--Workers were hired to set bars and standards for the athletes.
--The winner was returned the meet entry fee.

RESULTS
1st  Katie Cerling,  17,  10'0,  74.03%
2nd  Steve White,    32,  14'0,  70.81% (8 Step)
    Chris Milton,   24,  14'0,  70.81%
4th  Meira Lifson,   18,   9'6,  70.39%
5th  Brandon Johnson,18,  12'0,  70.25%
6th  Caroline White, 24,  11'0,  69.85%
7th  Owen Kingstadt, 17,  11'6,  67.37%
8th  Erin Buecksler, 22,  10'6,  66.74%
9th  Kurt Riska,     28,  13'0,  65.84% (6 Step)  
    Pat Hagel,      19,  13'0,  65.84%
11th Jen Fettig,     23,   9'6,  60.29%
    Monica Stearns  22,   nh
    Marla Nelson    19,   nh


All are welcome

[FlightDeck Athletics]

Places to vault that we know about in the summer

FlightDeck Athletics

Armstrong High School (contact Steve White steve@flightdeckathletics.com)

Let's offer a couple rules changes for summer and club meets.  I watched these ideas work well when I visited Earl Bell's house in Arkansas.

First, Every Vaulter gets ONE Mulligan in the competition.
Second, If you swear, it is a miss.
Third, If you land on your feet, it is a miss.  (most injuries are ankles)
Fourth, If you don't ask for your step (or mid-mark if you prefer), it is a miss.
Fifth, someone catches your pole, or ALL other vaulters get a miss.


Example.
If you clear the bar, land on your feet and don't check your step
  OXX  and you get to jump at the next height

If you miss, land on your feet, swear, and don't check your step
  XXXX  and you go home.


Your thoughts?
Steve

[Did the vaulter make an effort to throw the pole?]

Let's change the wind rulings that show up.

--Old way (high school)
Did the vaulter make an effort to throw the pole?


--New way (copied from the NCAA)
Did the WIND cause the pole to diplace the crossbar?

As a teacher of Physics, I can tell you that the force it takes to unbalance a pole enough to have it fall away from the crossbar is next to nothing (relative to the force required for a person to clear the bar in the first place)

Obviously there are days when we have to have wind calls--and I'm OK with that.  I would argue that these days are very few.  But let's ignor the wind when ever possible--require more of our vaulters--and leave the bar UP!  

What do you think?
Steve

[Sector]

The PLZ "preferred landing zone" is here, or on the way.  

I am one vaulter who thinks this is GREAT!

But let's add to the idea.  Let's "raise the bar" on all vaulters by calling the box a Sector.  As with other sectors in track and field, performances only count when the performance is completed within the sector.  I believe we should do that here.  Let's make it so that the vault only counts if the vaulter lands safely within the "sector".  All out-of-sector landings, whether the bar stays up or not, would be counted as a failed attempt.  

I believe, with this edit to our rules and our thinking, we could abolish the weight-rule and at the same time increase the safety for the event.  Let's stop complaining about the weight-rule, and invent a better alternative.  Only with a better alternative will this bad rule be changed.


What do you think?  Let's invent the solution.

Steve

Are you a college/Open/Masters Vaulter?
Are you looking for a club to train and vault with?

Join us.

We are currently competing at colleges around the area
The cost is $10 per day, all poles included.  Or you can buy a club jacket $90 and that covers you for the year.

Currently we have 22 people who are a part of FDA
We have well over 100 poles (nearly every pole 15-200 and smaller)

We will be training this summer again for the summer meets

Call Steve to get questions answered

.

[In an effort to simplify--All poles we have for sale and in stock are posted on our rental page]

=========================================================
<font size="3">In an effort to simplify--
All poles we have for sale and in stock are posted on our rental page </font id="size3">
(<font color="blue">Link to Rental Page</font id="blue">)

--you will see the phrase "<font color="maroon">also available for immediate purchase</font id="maroon">" for all poles that are currently for sale
--all other poles listed there are not for sale

We offer two Prices for poles
--$30 off the Gill-catalog price
--Buy 4 at the catalog price, get the 5th Free!

(4) Crossbar--Pacer International Pole Vault Crossbars
(4) Crossbar--Scholastic Pole Vault Crossbars
(7) Crossbar Repair Kit, for International crossbar
( Crossbar Repair Kit, for Scholastic crossbar

Terms:
--FREE SHIPPING because You come get them (Minneapolis)
--Pay cash/check or mail POs to our address below

We can get you any Gill item you wish (shot puts, hurdles, pits, etc)
Email <font color="blue">Brandon</font id="blue"> for Information



===================================================
Rental Season can Begin Sunday March 14th 2010, or any day after
Rental Season Ends no later than Sunday June 13th 2010--All poles are due back to Flight Deck on or before Sunday June 13th 2010.
<font color="purple">--all poles returned after Sunday June 13th will be considered re-rented at the daily rate of $7 per pole, per day.</font id="purple">


<font color="navy">WEEKLY / DAILY RENTAL RATES
A number of years ago, coaches asked me to come up with a weekly rental.  Their argument was that a full-season price was tough to pay when a pole was only needed for sections and maybe state.  I agreed and developed the weekly rental option.  Since then there has been increased pressure to turn this into a daily rate.  In an effort to meet coaching requests and still stay in business,  we will attempt a new pricing system, copying the taxi-cab pricing method--a minimum, then a rate.

Definitions:
-"One week" is defined as renting poles for 1-7 days, and costs $49 per pole
-as an example, a pole checked out on Sunday May 18th, is due back no later than Sunday May 25th for it to be considered a "one week" rental.  
-Beginning Day #8 and continuing each day after, a daily rate of $7 per pole, per day will be added to the $49, until the pole is returned.  
-Because the rentals are first-come-first serve, day #1 must begin when the coach wants me to save it for them and mark it <font color="red">rented</font id="red"> online.

Pricing Example:
Rent for 1-7 days, $49
Rent for 8 days, $56
Rent for 9 days, $63
Rent for 10 days, $70
Rent for 11 days, $77
Rent for 12 days, $84
Rent for 13 days, $91
Rent for 14 days, $98
etc. etc. etc.
</font id="navy">
===================================







I am running renting and sales this season
Please contact me at 763-458-2932 or by email steve@flightdeckathletics.com

I have developed a new pole calculator to assist coaches and athletes in proper pole selection
Please take a moment to download it, open it, and insert pole weight and pole length that is currently being used

If you need to call me, please have the pole calculator open when we talk.

Link To Current Pole Inventory

[2013 is our 13th year offering Pole Rentals]

2013 is our 13th year offering Pole Rentals

Nobody has helped more Minnesota vaulters get the poles they need than Flight Deck
Nobody has saved Minnesota vaulters more money than Flight Deck
Flight Deck has revolutionized Minnesota pole Vault

Flight Deck Athletics Inc.
a family-owned business offering unmatched service and assistance

• I am running renting and sales this season
  
  
  • Please email steve@flightdeckathletics.com with your orders, requests, or questions
  • If it's an emergency, call me at 763-458-2932 (before 9pm), but note: I am family-first, with a 5.5 year-old and a 3.5 year-old, and a full-time AP physics-teacher, and the Pole Vault coach for the Gophers, so I may not be able to answer the phone
  • I want to help you, and I will always do my best to meet your needs
  • email is your best bet


• I have developed a "Next Pole Calculator" to assist you in proper pole selection
  
  
  • Please take a moment to download it, open it, and follow the instructions listed
  • If you have questions, please call me--but please have the pole calculator open when we talk so we can expedite the conversation.
  • Next Pole Calculator


• I built a Flex Tester--the first and only non-manufacturer to do so in the world
  
  
  • All of our poles will be flex-tested prior to you renting them
  • All poles will be re-tested when they are returned
  • If you own poles that you are concerned about, we can test those too ($10/pole)

Once again, Flight Deck is leading the way through innovation
...serving Minnesota vaulters with the best performing and safest pole-line.
...serving Minnesota schools with the only safe way to test potentially damaged poles without endangering athletes

Next Pole Calculator

Link To Rental Procedures
and Current Pole Inventory

 



Steve, Caroline, Henry (4.5), Emmitt (2.5)