Downtown Mobile’s entertainment district turned into an unlikely track and field venue as the fourth annual Dauphin Street Vault pushed through hours of stop-and-start rain to keep its pole vaulting competition alive.
Organizers had promised the event would go on rain or shine, and they held to that promise even as forecasted thunderstorms rolled through the city’s Dauphin Street corridor. A steady downpour lasting roughly an hour forced many athletes to huddle under awnings and umbrellas while waiting for breaks in the weather, but the competition never officially stopped.
The landing pit, the cushioned area vaulters fall into after clearing the bar, briefly turned into a small pool of standing water. Rather than wait it out quietly, some restless athletes took the opportunity to run and dive into the puddled mat just for fun while competition was paused.
One official overseeing the event, a 47-year-old veteran of the sport, said rain delays are a familiar part of the Dauphin Street Vault, which typically runs longer than any other event at a typical track meet. In past years, he said, the competition has stretched well past midnight before finishing.
Competitors interviewed streetside said the rain added a layer of difficulty but wasn’t necessarily dangerous, so long as vaulters kept their poles and hand grips dry. A 21-year-old self-taught vaulter said wet conditions mainly threatened a vaulter’s grip and tape, while a 27-year-old competitor who also coaches at a private Mobile prep school echoed that sentiment, noting that wet poles are the real hazard since they compromise a vaulter’s control during the jump.
That same coach, who has competed in the sport for about a dozen years, said darkness usually ends competition at typical track meets, but organizers of the Dauphin Street Vault come prepared with lighting to keep things going as late as 2 a.m. if necessary.
The event has become a quirky summer tradition in downtown Mobile, drawing athletes willing to test their skills against both a stiff athletic challenge and whatever the Gulf Coast weather throws at them, all in front of spectators lining the sidewalks of one of the city’s best-known streets.