Pole selection is governed by NFHS rule 7-5 (and the USATF Youth equivalent): the manufacturer rating must be at or above your body weight in uniform and spikes. Picking a pole goes further than "legal," though, the rating, length, and your grip target all interact. This calculator returns three numbers: (1) the legal floor, (2) the rating range that matches your level, and (3) the corresponding pole length window from the standard 12-inch progression chart.
NFHS Rule 7-5 and USATF Youth rules require the manufacturer's pole rating to be at or above the athlete's body weight in competition uniform and spikes. The rating must be marked in a contrasting color, at least 3/4-inch tall, on or above the top handhold. This is the floor, not the target.
Your weight rating moves with your sprint speed and technique (heavier ratings store more energy but require more force to bend). Your pole length moves with your grip height. Each pole has a 12-inch grip range (6-18 inches from the top), and the top of one pole's grip range is the bottom of the next 12-inch-longer pole's range. So a 13' pole's grip range (11'6"-12'6") meets the 12' pole's range (10'6"-11'6") at the 11'6" handhold.
Per Dahlman's coaching paper and the standard fiberglass-pole physics, the pole feels ~1.5 lbs stiffer per inch as you grip down within the grip range. So a 12'1" pole rated 140 at the top of the grip range feels like roughly 158 at the bottom, equivalent to a 158-lb pole. This is the mechanism for fine-tuning between manufactured rating increments.
The calculator gives you a starting number. AI form check verifies whether your form is actually matching that number on the runway. Upload a clip from practice, and the AI tells you whether your takeoff velocity, grip height, and approach are landing where the calculator said they should.
Frequently asked questions about how this calculator works and the methodology behind it.
Primary sources behind the numbers and methods on this page.
A directory of every pole vault page on the site, from broad analysis tools to specific phase deep-dives. Each entry points to a focused write-up.
Run the numbers, then run the rep. AI form check tells you whether your form is matching the math, frame by frame.
