WAIS pole vault development program looking to uncover next generation of champion vaulters

The WAIS pole vault legacy includes an Olympic gold medal, Commonwealth Games gold medals, three six metre jumpers, Australian Records, Diamond League titles.

With current scholarship holders Nina Kennedy and Kurtis Marschall, who claimed gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, inspiring the next generation of pole vaulters, WAIS Senior Pole Vault Coach James Fitzpatrick is eager to encourage athletes to get involved and try the sport.

“This program is the most successful program in athletics history for Australia. I can’t think of another program that has consistently, over the years, produced World Champions.” Fitzpatrick said.

“We’re here and we’re looking. We want to grow our sport, starting with junior development within Western Australia”

Working in partnership with the state sporting association, Athletics West to grow and strengthen athletics in Western Australia, WAIS is providing coach education, which will eventually support emerging vaulters into the WAIS program.

“If we are going to increase numbers in our pathways, we need coaches that can aid this development.

“At WAIS we are invested in identifying and developing high performing junior athletes for our event.

“Leila Barker is a local WA example of an athlete we picked up through Athletics West, she has been really successful in a short period of time.

“Leila came to us with an athletics background, a huge advantage for us as someone had already taught her how to sprint and jump. She wouldn’t have known she had the skillset for another event if she hadn’t come along and tried pole vault.”

Seventeen-year-old Barker, has been a part of the WAIS Pole Vault Development Program for just under a year, a program to support athletes towards a WAIS scholarship.

“I started Little Athletics when I was six with UWALA and have since competed in most athletics events. I was also a national level gymnast for eleven years before retiring last year,” Barker said.

“The aerial awareness and strength that I gained from gymnastics and the running and jumping skills from athletics, gave me a great foundation to build into pole vault.

With an evident interest in athletics and sport in general, it wasn’t until retiring from gymnastics that she realised the possibility of trying pole vault was on the cards.

“I’ve always loved watching Nina [Kennedy] compete, it looked so cool. When I made the decision to retire from gymnastics, I saw there was a TID testing day happening at WAIS, so I went along. This is where I got to try pole vault for the first time.

“WAIS has a great pole vault program and I love that training includes many different elements, such as skills, strength and conditioning, some running and gymnastics too. The environment and training as a squad makes it so much more fun.

“Pole vault is such an exciting event, the community is so supportive and if you’re looking for an event with a high thrill factor, you should definitely give it a try!”

With Fitzpatrick overseeing the pole vault pathway at WAIS, Athletics West General Manger Pathways and former Australian 400m hurdler, Lyndsay Troode, plays a vital role in growing the sport within the state.

“I’ve been General Manger Pathways at Athletics West for a year and a half now, my role encompassing the competitions state teams, our talent programs and our athlete, staff and official’s education and development.

“We have a long-standing history of success with pole vault. The WAIS pole vault program and the Junior Developing Program that’s currently running, really gives athletes the best opportunity to excel through that pathway.

“At present, if we are contacted with interest in trying pole vault, we will direct them to the talent ID sessions run by James. However, in the future we hope to develop the accessibility of the sport.”

“We have been working collaboratively with WAIS on developing community level coaches, providing them with opportunities to upskill and further learn about coaching the event. An initiative to ensure we are bringing through that next generation.”

WAIS Athletics Performance Manager, Grant Ward, runs the National Target Talent Program (TTP) as part of his multi-faceted role. The TPP Program aiming to empower coaches, athletes and Member Associations to create a sustainable talent development environment.

“The TTP, which is a program that recognises talented athletes nationally in the pathway from under 16 to under 20, involves running both coach and athlete educational workshops/seminars together with National Testing protocols.

“The wider athletics pathway is currently limited to the identification of athletes into the TTP Program and the Athletics West Emerging Athlete Program, which sits just below the TTP,” Ward explained.

“The pole vault program, being a specialist program that is not part of the Little Athletics program, is a unique event similar to hammer throw.

“Currently within WAIS we have two experienced coaches – Head Coach Paul Burgess and Senior Coach James Fitzpatrick, who work closely together to build the program.”

Anyone interested in trying pole vault is encouraged to contact Athletics West on 6272 0480 or admin@athleticswest.com.au.