Just to let you know that all my time isn’t spent at sporting events. Last night, after the State College High School girls soccer game I went to a memorial concert to benefit the Kevin Dare Scholarship Fund.
Kevin was a PSU pole vaulter (and former Tavern employee) who tragically died in a vaulting accident at the 2002 Big Ten Track and Field Championships. His family has established the Dare Foundation which is dedicated to making pole vaulting a safer sport.
Kevin was a wonderful young man who truly has not died in vain. In just a few short years his father’s dedication has resulted in significant technology advances in pole vaulting safety. The next step is to get these technology advances adopted by the vaulting community. Toby Stevenson won an Olympic Silver Medal wearing one of the Dare helmets but in general most vaulters haven’t yet embraced them.
The technology of the KDMax helmet is also extending to other fields. The Penn State football team among others is now using helmets cushioned by the same material as pole vaulting helmet. It appears that Kevin’s tragic death will have a far reaching positive effect on the safety of others.