2009 Factory Vault Symposium

The History

And Evolution of the Carbon Vaulting Pole and FX Design

Overview

• If you stop looking to improve will the competition do the same?

• In what sport would the preferred mode be twenty year old methods and technology?

• Carbon Fiber• Probing the basic design ( leads to FX)• Probing the material properties envelop• Testing at the Plant – Data • Using the tools – Vaulting• Right tool for the right person

Stroll through Gill Athletics, Inc. and a short history of poles1918 – Harry Gill starts making track and field equipment1949 - Herb Jenks and his first fiberglass pole1951 – Fiberglass poles carried in a track equipment booklet1951 – Giltal Vaultmaster Metal Poles1960 – Gill Fiberlite (fiberglass pole) carried steel, bamboo and fiberglass poles1966 – Gill Big Red Fiberglass pole1967 – “New in 1967” Training Poles – also 16’ Big Red’s1967 – Rankin Method – weight rating versus hand hold height for fiberglass poles1976 – Gill Vaultmaster II brown fiberglass pole is being phased out and Gill is now carrying Dark Blue Skypoles1976 – Patent on Fiberglass Vaulting Pole issued, Herbert Jenks, Assignee, AMF Incorporated. Bob Prideaux a pattern cutter at Pacer is still helping make poles at Gill Athletics, Inc.1984 – Skypole and equipment sold to Gill. Ralph Paquin is 1st Gill Employee trained on Skypole manufacturing, Ralph is still working at Gill in Engineering Group.1985 – A few Light Blue Skypoles had carbon material - prototyping1987 – Pacer Line and equipment for building poles, Herb Jenks patent and technology sold to Gill. 1988 – Gill is testing Carbon Skypoles2001/2002 – FX (Functional Design) – 2003 Started looking at advanced materials2008 – Oct 21 - Patent Issued on Carbon Weave Vaulting Poles

Carbon Fiber• Carbon fiber

– 1958, Dr. Roger Bacon created high-performance carbon fibers at the Union Carbide Parma Technical Center, located outside of Cleveland, Ohio

• PAN aerospace/high end carbon fiber

– polyacrylonitrile

• Advantages

– weight-to-strength ratio

– extremely low flex fatigue over time

• Disadvantages– Higher cost– Lower elongation limit

• Potential– Steeper stress strain curve

Carbon Fiber in Poles

Pattern books contain thousands of the early carbon poles designs including going from Skypole to the Pacer line – Carbon Skypole was first

What was behind FX

• Pacer – Sail Pattern Design– Who uses this now

• What was the goal– Transition in wgt– Transition in length

• What was the result– Vault over 6m on a pole you just got?

• Why would mandrel diameter go down when wgt rating goes up• This was a Pacer trait pre FX project

65 percent chord length

3D Modeling

Tools to Understand Better

• Video Taping

• Arc Lines – Factory Vaults

• Dynamic Testing

• Dartfish Anaylsis Software

• 3D Solid modeling (SolidWorks)– Motion Capabilities– FEA Capabilities

New Generation of Carbon

• 2003 to the present – first was a treat

• NCAA Champ’s

• Medalist on World Stage

• WJR, National Records

• 2009 EIC Champ

• Just another step in the continued quest for improvement

Mikko Latvala feedback• Comparison between Pacer FX, Carbon FX and Carbon Weave.• Best results with different models. In brackets is best result, biggest pole and lenght I have used with each

model. At the end there is year when I have done it.• Old Carbon 566 (13.7/5.00m) -01 • Carbon FX 560 (14.4/5.10m) -02• Carbon FX 560 (13.7/5.00m) -05• Pacer FX 563 (14.6/5.00m) -08• Carbon Weave 550 (14.3/5.00m) -09• Weight:• Weave feels very light, a little bit lighter than Carbon FX but big difference to Pacer FX. It is much easier to control

my run up and planting with Weave.• Bending:• Even my take off is not so good and I have quite low grips(4.80-4.90), weave started to bend quite easily. It felt

”softer” in take off than Carbon FX. Weave and Pacer FX are quite close each other at take off but what makes it easier is the weight of the pole.

• I think Weave has the best bend, it is more circular than Carbon FX and Pacer FX. I think weave is not so exact for take off angle. Even if vault is moving forward is a little bit low, it still bend very circular. (if you understand what I am meaning)

• Recoil:• I think Pacer FX has slowest recoiling of these three models. Weave and Carbon FX has quite similar recoil. But

anyway all these three models has quite fast recoil. I did one pv session with 14.9/500 spirit pole and its recoil was much slower than weave´s.

• I used Weave poles only twice in Chula Vista, so experiences are mostly from one competition I did there.

What works for the vaulter

• The right tool

• F1 versus limo

• Beginner versus elite

• One pole versus various poles– Different lengths– Different ratings or flexs– Different Designs

Questions?