Pole vaulting is back at the Prince George Track and Field Club and Kendel Rogers couldn't be happier with its return.
Two months after planting her first pole in the practice pit at Masich Place Stadium in Prince George, Rogers won gold in the event two weeks ago at the B.C. junior development track and field championships in Nanaimo.
Rogers cleared the bar at 1.95 metres, a personal best, winning the event over three other vaulters from Nanaimo. Two of them tied Rogers at the same height but she won it based on the fact she required fewer attempts.
All it took to bring pole vault back to the local athletics front after a six-year absence was a visit by aspiring national team vaulter Robyn Webster of Merritt. Webster, a five-year CIS athlete at the University of Calgary, came to Prince George in May for an instruction camp where she demonstrated her pole vaulting technique to a group of young athletes. Among them was Kuort Bishop, a 15-year-old from Phoenix, Ariz., who recently moved to Prince George and joined the local club this year, bringing with him a background as a vaulter coached in Phoenix by 2000 Olympic pole vault champion Nick Hysong.
Before that, the pole vault mats at Masich Place Stadium hadn't seen the light of day since the 2007 B.C. Seniors Games.
"I've always wanted to pole vault and I'm so glad I got to do it," said Rogers, now in her third season with the PGTFC. "I've been doing pole vaulting for about two months now and it's so much fun, I like the height part of it. I'm not really afraid of it, I just love going up and twisting."
Local interest in pole vault from Rogers, Bishop and Lindsay King convinced PGTFC coach Bill Masich to return to coaching, alongside his wife Corine, the club's high jumping coach.
"I have some experience with pole vault from a couple camps and I'm pretty comfortable getting kids up and over the bar," said Bill Masich. "Since Kendel and Lindsay started, there are about eight more girls who are really keen to start vaulting next year:"
Rogers' 1.95 m winning height was sixth best in the meet's eight-year history. She specializes as a jumper and sprinter and finished fifth in the triple jump, sixth in the high jump and fourth in her 80m hurdles heat.
"I'm really happy that my training paid off, I got lots of PBs down there," Rogers said.
While the Nanaimo meet marks the end of her competitive season, Rogers is already looking forward to next year when the club purchases a more flexible pole she hopes will allow her to jump higher.
