Pole Vault Training Assistant

• 

  Final product in casing

Inspiration

I coach pole vault, but I often struggle to analyze and address all phases of a vaulter's jump. All phases of a pole vault happen in under 15 seconds, and there is simply too much about each vault to remember, so I wanted a device that can do some of the remembering for me.

What it does

Our device analyzes the ground phases of a pole vaulter's jump - specifically the step count and the takeoff. An accurate step count and takeoff are absolutely critical to a good jump, but if coaches focus on these too much they miss the aerial phase of the vault. This device gives coaches the step count and takeoff data, from which they can glean information and see patterns that emerge. For example, if the takeoff step is ever so slightly after the plant, the vaulter will most likely not have good penetration into the pit. If the data confirms this when the coach sees it, the need to guess why the vaulter is not penetrating is eliminated and can be addressed more easily.

How we built it

We built two microcontroller circuits using Arduino Trinkets that log data from triple axis accelerometers to SD cards, which can then plugged into a computer and analyzed.

Challenges we ran into

We still have progress to make when it comes to bluetooth communication with a mobile device and a mobile app.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud to have gotten it up and running in such a short amount of time.

What we learned

We learned a lot about data logging in arduino.

What's next for Pole Vault Training Assistant

It is absolutely necessary for the both accelerometers to work on the same time scale and to communicate (via blue-tooth) with a coach's mobile device, which will be able to activate the device via an app. From there, pilot testing would be conducted with various levels of pole vaulters.

Built With

• arduino
• c
• microcontroller
• serial-communication