A Vaulting Pole should be made of a strong wood, free from knots and other defects. The regulation pole is made of selected spruce, its length varying from eight to fourteen feet. If you make your own pole, be careful to plane off all splinters and irregularities, making it round and smooth, and point one end so it will stick into the ground and prevent slipping.
Although seldom used in an outdoor gymnasium,
A Spring-board is excellent for practising the high and broad jumps, and is a piece of apparatus with which a great deal of fun may be had. [Figure 263] shows a scheme for a spring-board that is easy to make. First cut three pieces of two-by-four two feet long, lay them on the ground parallel to each other eighteen inches apart, and construct a platform four feet long by two feet wide on top of them.
Fig. 263.—A Spring-board.
Fig. 264.