Basics - Bar Clearance

1. The pull & turn should be executed until the pole travels up the vaulters body and both hands have reached the vaulters torso. Many vaulters pull "out" causing them to shoot horizontally instead of vertically - costing them FEET of height.
2. The vaulter should only become aware of the bar as their body passes the bar on the runway side. The vaulter should continue to rock back through the end of the pull & turn in order to bring their body back away from the crossbar and shoot vertical.
3. A common error of many vaulters is that they rock-back relative to the ground (meaning they get upside down to where their body is perpendicular to the ground) - then they stop. As the pole recoils from its fully bent position, the incorrect vaulter holds on to it - and as the pole straightens, the vaulters body becomes parallel to the ground - clearly not what we want. The vaulter needs to continue to rock back through the jump - and get vertical relative to the pole - which requires rocking back several seconds more. By doing this, the vaulter's body swinging up (and back away from the bar) matches the pole recoiling towards the bar - and the two forces meet to shoot the vaulter straight up in the air (and hopefully slightly forward) over the bar.
4. Too many inexperienced vaulters catch sight of the bar too early in the jump, and shoot at it - kicking it off or plowing into it. Vaulters should be instructed to vault relative to the pole, not the crossbar. Hopefully, this will teach the vaulter to travel up the pole and stay away from the bar.