GREAT New Poles!!

My "test dummy", Matt Kowalski, jumped on my new poles today. Except for being 17 years younger, he is about my height and weight and grips about where I do. He started on the pole I jumped 4m on in Sydney and quickly moved to my biggest 14' 1" (4.30m), and then on to the first 14' 7" (4.45M). As Kris had predicted when he flexed them on his high tech device, it was essentially the same pole except a bit more snappy on the extension. SO, that pole takes the place of the pole that was too small from 65' at Belton on January 2.

The next question was how big did the next pole feel since it was .3 bigger? Again, no problem for Matt. In fact he was able to jump on the first four 14' 7" poles before he had to move back a stride to the last three. Two of the three poles I got from Kris/Bruce/Essx were .2 apart but the unknown was the last one, a pole that our former athlete, Ryan Hodges gave me when he went to the University of Texas. Matt used that one last and it too was .2 bigger than the biggest new one. Seven poles, all .2 apart except .3 between poles 1 and 2.

Our biggest concern was that the longer/higher "sail piece" (reinforcement trapezoid shaped piece) would be harder to get to roll forward. The hope was that it would pick me up a little better off of the ground rather than allow me to travel forward before lifting me. Matt's jumping today proved that we called it perfectly. HUGE kudos to Bruce Caldwell of Essx and my coach, Kris Allison, for flexing and refining this new seven poles series. AND Matt of course.

NOW, I just have to get well enough to jump on them. I'm getting pretty optimistic about that as I packed the first 14' 7" on my bag to take to Boston. More as we get closer but today is two weeks out until Nationals and everything is progressing nicely. have a great weekend. Bubba