Skyjumpers Connecticut (www.ctskyjumpers.org)

Welcome!

Skyjumpers Connecticut is a pole vault club based in Norwich, Connecticut. The principal reason for having a pole vault club is to provide opportunities for athletes above and beyond what is available to them at their schools.

At present Skyjumpers Connecticut is comprised mostly of high school pole vaulters but we also have some younger and some older vaulters. One of the best things about the club is the atmosphere. Because we have athletes from so many different schools, the club provides opportunities to create friendships that transcend the usual school and team boundaries. Those friendships help to create a positive, cooperative experience for everybody.

We have athletes involved from all over Connecticut. Although we are based in Southeastern Connecticut (Norwich), we have vaulters from Winsted, Avon, Farmington, Bristol, Glastonbury, Wethersfield, East Hampton, South Windsor, Monroe, North Haven, East Haven, and even Ridgefield and Wilton who travel to participate. We have a broad range of ability levels. Some of our vaulters are beginners. Most are probably intermediate. But we also have some distinguished alumni such as:

* Jessica Sullivan, 2005, 2006, 2007 Connecticut Class LL Champion and 2007 Connecticut State Open (Indoor and Outdoor) Champion (11-06 high school PR). Currently competing at the University of Notre Dame (11-8 collegiate PR).

* Jordan Thull, 2005, 2006 State Class L (Indoor and Outdoor) Champion, Open (Indoor and Outdoor) Champion, New England Champion. New England HS Record 16-1. Currently competing at Northeastern University (17-0 collegiate PR).

*Patrick Waszczak, 2007 Connecticut Class M Champion (14-6 high school PR). Currently competing at Southern CT State University (15-9 collegiate PR).

* Lauren Bennett, 2007, 2008 State Class L (Indoor and Outdoor Champion) (11-0 high school PR). Currently competing at Northeastern University.

Spring Groups begin Sunday March 29. Go to the "Calendar" for registration information.

Our coach, Russ VerSteeg, has coached at both Norwich Free Academy and East Lyme High School. He has been on the staff of Jan Johnson's Sky Jumpers camps (Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California) since 2002. In his “day job” he teaches at New England School of Law in Boston, MA (yea, he's a lawyer!) where he teaches Sports Law, Copyright, Trademark, Legal History, and Contracts. He has published five articles relating to the legal and safety aspects of pole vaulting (the most recent co-authored with Jim Bemiller [Jim is Tim Mack's coach…for those of you who don't know], and he's done safety presentations at the Reno Pole Vault Summit (2005 and 2006). Russ is the legal adviser for the Pole Vault Safety Certification Board (www.pvscb.com)(he's also got his PVSCB coach's certification). He's also certified in First Aid, CPR, and has his Connecticut Coach's Certification. Russ serves on the staff of the National USATF Women's Pole Vault Development Committee as legal adviser. He and Jan Johnson wrote the book, “Illustrated History of the Pole Vault,” published in January 2008.