When the Dauphin Street Vault first launched in 2011, the concept seemed like an odd mismatch: take pole vaulting, a sport usually contested in hushed, controlled settings, and drop it into the middle of a rowdy downtown Mobile street party complete with rock music and a screaming crowd. Five years later, the event is not only still going strong, it’s expanding, with a 400-meter street race joining the competition for the first time this Saturday, July 18.
“Our motivation back in 2011 was for this to be cool,” said Thomas Fowlkes, one of the event’s founders. “Then it grew. It was an unintentional success.”
The competition takes over a section of Dauphin Street just past Cathedral Square, where crews build two wooden vaulting runways to allow continuous action throughout the evening. Unlike a traditional track meet, where field events tend to draw a more subdued, attentive crowd, the Dauphin Street Vault turns each attempt into a moment for the crowd to erupt.
“One of the main missions is to promote the sport,” Fowlkes said. “Vaulting is an underappreciated sport in general. It actually is the sexiest event in all of track and field. So we put it right in the middle of the street, right in front of everyone’s eyes. It’s a great environment, especially when you throw in 1,000-plus spectators and some great competitors.”
The event has become a boon for businesses along that stretch of Dauphin Street. “It’s one of the best single days of the year for some of the businesses on that block,” said Carol Hunter of the Downtown Mobile Alliance, an organization focused on redevelopment in the area. “The Dauphin Street Vault is the kind of unexpected event that works so well downtown, because of the vibrant street scene and the ease of walking to dining and shopping. Hundreds of vaulters, their families and local spectators fill the street, restaurants and hotel rooms at a time of year when business is less robust.”
David Rasp, owner of Heroes Sports Bar and Grille next to the competition area, said the crowds keep growing each year and tend to include a lot of families. “The format seems to work well, with the more accomplished athletes performing later in the evening,” Rasp said. “Lower Dauphin is a great setting for such a unique event.”
Competition begins at 10 a.m. with the first flight of vaulters, with more than 175 athletes expected based on last year’s turnout, according to Drew Bentley, track coach at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School and one of the event’s organizers. The elite invitational division starts at 7 p.m., with finals wrapping up around 10 p.m. The event carries certification from USA Track and Field, the sport’s national governing body, and when the bar climbs toward 18 feet, vaulters clear heights that put them near hotel balconies and traffic signals above the street.
Last year’s men’s champion, Devin King, set a Dauphin Street Vault record by clearing 18 feet before going on to finish fourth at the junior world championships the following week. King has since completed his freshman year at Southeastern Louisiana University. Sean Collins, a McGill-Toolen graduate now headed to the University of South Alabama, placed third at last year’s event and recently set a personal best of 17 feet, 10.5 inches in Oregon. On the women’s side, Morgann LeLeux won for the fourth consecutive year in 2014 with a clearance of 13 feet, 8 inches.
As organizers prepared for the fifth edition of the event, they decided to add something new. “We were just shooting from the hip,” Fowlkes said of the decision to add a road race. “We came up with another idea, and said, ‘let’s do it.'”
Red Bull, a sponsor of the event since its first year, helped fund the infrastructure needed for the new race, and organizers brought on O’Daly’s Irish Pub as a partner for a pre-party tied to the event. Other longtime sponsors of the Dauphin Street Vault include the Mobile Sports Authority, Infirmary Health, and Mobile Lumber and Millwork.
“This year’s race is a pilot,” Fowlkes said. Entry costs $10 for participants 18 and older, while those 17 and younger can run for free, with heats organized by age and gender.
The pre-party runs from 4 to 6 p.m. at O’Daly’s, located near Wintzell’s Oyster House. The 400-meter race follows, finishing at Cathedral Square, with an awards ceremony set to close out the evening just before the elite pole vault competition begins. Birmingham native and decathlon star Trey Hardee, a two-time world champion and two-time U.S. Olympian who won silver in 2012, is scheduled to make a special appearance at the pre-party.
“I grew up with Trey, so it will be great having him here,” Fowlkes said. “He works with Nike, promoting how important it is to stay active.”
The new race ties back into one of the founding goals of the event five years ago. “We wanted to push health and wellness through athletics,” Fowlkes said. “We want to convince kids to be more active, and to participate in track and field at their schools. Then we thought about adding a race, with the message being ‘let’s run, more fun.’ And it doesn’t hurt to have it start and end with a block party.”