Three attempts, but when do you pass a height? Rules, aborted approaches and the tactical calls of competition day – technique, common mistakes and a practical tip.
"Why does the leader just skip a height?" Anyone watching a pole vault competition for the first time wonders exactly that. The honest answer: pole vault is the most tactical jumping event in track and field — here you decide not just how you jump, but when and at what height.
The basic rule: you get three attempts per height. After a miss you can either try the same height again or move straight to the next height — but then you only carry two attempts there instead of three. Every additional miss you "carry forward" further reduces your attempt count at the next height. After three consecutive misses, no matter across which heights, you're out — your best successfully cleared height counts.
The runway itself is at least 40 meters long, 45 recommended, and at least 1.22 meters wide — enough space to react to competition conditions. And a detail that surprises many beginners: you may abort your approach at any point before planting the pole, with no miss at all — as long as you don't touch the bar. This rule exists precisely because almost no other event is as sensitive to wind, rhythm and timing as this one.
Three attempts per height, but every miss "travels with you" if you move up. One miss at height one leaves only two attempts at height two, two misses leave only one. This rule makes every decision — try again or pass — a real trade-off.
Entering too low wastes strength and time on heights you'll clear anyway. Entering too high risks three misses and an early exit with no height on the board at all. Your opening height is one of the most important decisions of the whole competition day.
Passing a height saves strength and avoids unnecessary misses on a height that's a lock anyway. The cost: the risk of entering the next height already under pressure, since a carried-over miss can shorten your attempts there.
If the rhythm feels wrong, you simply abort the approach — no miss, no touching the bar. That's not a sign of weakness but professional craft: a jump with off timing won't land clean anyway.
At a higher level you bring several poles of different stiffness and decide, based on wind, form of the day and height, which one to use. That choice usually happens during warm-up, not spontaneously between attempts.
Competition pressure tempts you to force jumps your approach or rhythm currently doesn't support. The approach abort exists exactly for this case — use it without hesitation instead of pushing through an unsure jump.
Check before competing that box, standards and mat meet federation specs, especially at unfamiliar facilities. And don't let other athletes' tactics pressure you into decisions that don't fit your current form.
Set your opening height and rough height roadmap before warm-up, not once the competition begins. Having a plan already in your head leads to better decisions under time pressure than reacting spontaneously.
A trick from elite sport: watch wind direction and strength during warm-up and plan your pole choice accordingly — a tailwind often allows a slightly softer pole, a headwind usually calls for a stiffer one.
Basically three. But if you move up to a new height after a miss, you carry that miss with you and get only two there, or just one after two misses.
You simply enter at the next, higher bar — with all three attempts, as long as you had no miss at the height you skipped. Passing is a legitimate tactical decision, not a rule violation.
Yes, at any point before the plant and with no miss, as long as you don't touch the bar. This rule exists because the approach is extremely sensitive to wind, rhythm and timing.
Because wind, form of the day and height can call for different pole stiffnesses. Multiple poles give tactical flexibility a single pole can't — the choice usually happens during warm-up.
Pole Vault: Elite-Level Pole and Grip Progression