I never understand how people get into sports like this, you can’t just casually try it like football or rugby or ping pong or running, I’ve never seen a pole vaulting place in my life and how do you even get started? Surely your fall on the first go!! Can you do pole vaulting at an older age in the UK?

11 comments
  1. try calling your local leisure centres, even if they don’t have the facilities it’s likely they will be able to point you in the right direction.

  2. Some athletics clubs have polevaulting coaches, not all though. When I used to compete in athletics as a teenager, you had to be invited to try out pole vault, and had to be able to complete several tests including walking on your hands for a set distance and a minimum 100m time

  3. Get down Aldi and get yourself a pole vault.
    They’re in the middle aisle next to the Show Jumping equipment, Mexican street foods and the Impact drill bit sets.

    Then just take it everywhere with you in a long backpack and practice vaulting over things going from low things like cars to tall things like double decker buses.

    When starting out always make sure they’re parked next to a pond or sandpit so it doesn’t hurt when you land.

    Alternatively, join an athletics club and take your trusty pole with you, I guess.

  4. I’m fairly sure people join athletics clubs and then get split off from there based on abilities.

    I think a lot of long jumpers are former sprinters etc. Not sure what skills transfer to pole vault though.

  5. Try jumping into the garden or kids sand pit with a clothes prop to see if its cut out for you.

  6. Reminds me of a joke. ‘Are you a pole vaulter’ asks bloke #1. Bloke #2 responds ‘No, i am actually German, but how did you know my name was Walter?’

  7. Athletics clubs.

    A lot of pole vaulters start as sprinters (or hurdlers or whatever) and then have a go for fun and transition when they realise they are better at it – relative to the competition – than they are at just plain running.

  8. I think since it’s running fast and jumping high the athletics talents scouts must just spot people who can do both in events like hurdles and high jump and then a mythical lady emerges from a lake and gives them a long pole

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