At Dock 76 in Rouen, young pole vaulters in search of thrills
With both hands on the bar, her body surrounded by very soft foam mats, Lou, 10, is getting ready. In the middle of the shops of the Docks 76 shopping center in Rouen, the little girl is about to try pole vaulting for the first time. This initiative is organized with the Sottevillais stadium as part of the Perche Elite Tour which is to take place in Rouen next March 5.
After a few tries, Lou is more than happy: “The first try, I didn’t feel it too much because my legs were shaking and I was downright scared. Once we’ve done it, our body is more relaxed and we can do it properly. I tell me what to do now.”
Reveal passions?
“We are not necessarily immediately provided by this type of sport so I think it is rather good that they do an initiation because it can reveal passions, note for her part Jennifer, mother of two small pole vaulters for a day. The kids liked it so it’s cool.”
Alongside the foam mats, Pacôme, a pole vaulter at the Sottevillais stadium, helps the children with the poles: “Honestly, it’s great to see them start because I’ve been there, I was doing the same exercises. It’s true that on television it may seem high and difficult, but here I think they are a little reassured and you can see that they can make good jumps.”
“The great jumpers started like this”
“It’s quite fun, explains Daniel Russis, pole vault coach at the Sottevillais stadium. It comes little by little but when you have a youngster who is bitten it can go quite quickly. We can start when we are very young and with small exercises we progress.
It finishes : “Great jumpers started like this.”