Would you have let athletes compete on these poles?

I don’t know how many times this past year I have got the question 'what happened in the Nordics?’ ‘What was wrong with the poles?’

‘Everything’ is my answer!

Now when the IPSF has come with an apparatus norms list it is very clear that the poles never should have been put on the market by the manufacturer.

This is the list of requirements from IPSF with my comments on however these requirements were fulfilled or not:

The pole

·         The apparatus consists of a one piece (in length) brass tubular body which is placed vertically on to a base. The poles Aurelian sports send us was in 2 pieces.

·         The grade of the brass tubing is left to the manufacturer’s discretion, however the brass should not be electro-plated. We don’t know.

·         Body length 4000 mm (excluding the extender) with a tolerance of +-50mm. This was one requirement that the grip pole managed to reach.

·         Body diameter is a constant 45 mm.
This was one requirement that the grip pole managed to reach.

·         The pole must be steel lined for rigidity. No

·         External brass tubing diameter 2 mm with a tolerance +-1mm.
We don’t know.

·         Internal steel core diameter 4 mm or more. No

·         The steel core should be firmly fixed to the internal wall of the brass tube. The anchoring to the body must assure immobility. No, not this either.

·         When the pole is correctly installed in vertical position, a slight flexibility of the body (the tube), which must not affect the support or stability of the pole is accepted, however this should not exceed 20mm lateral deflection of pole when in use. Check the video above!!!

·         The pole must have a high level of grip. The grip must be effective in all climates. Dont know

·         The pole must not deteriorate with the use of grip enhancers. Dont know

·         The metals used in the fabrication of the pole should not contain products that could cause an allergic reaction. Dont know

·         The pole, its fixings, and all moving and working parts must be strong enough to withstand the lateral force of 180 kg jumping at, and rotating on, the poles at speed. Check the video above!!!

·         The pole should withstand the continued use of 180 kg for a period of 48 hours without bowing, sowing or damage to its working parts.
Check the video above!!!

·         The pole should function without noise from the moving parts. No


The representatives from Aurelian Sports and Grip Pole are trying to blame that their poles didn’t measure up due to the rig we used. And as you can see from the pictures below we used the same rig as they used in the UK Pole Sports Championships 2 years in a row with Sun Pole with no problem.

We are still waiting for Aurelian Sports to step up and realize that the poles they sent us was not competition standard, to take responsibility for what happened at the Nordic Grand Prix and honor the contract they wrote (!) with us.

So my question to you all is ‘would you have let athletes compete on these poles?