On Friday night, August 7, 2009, the North American Pole Vault Championships competition was held in Old Town Clovis at the corner of 4th St. and Pollasky Avenue. It was the 15th annual championships event to be held at the Friday night Farmer's Market.

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Old Town Clovis Farmer's Market has hosted the North American Pole Vaulting Association Championships since 1994. The Business Organization of Old Town Clovis has joined the North American Pole Vault Association, Mount San Antonio College Track & Field Program, Fresno State Track & Field Club and the USA Track & Field Pole Vault Development in supporting the athletes and the USA Track & Field programs. The North American Pole Vaulting Championships is one of the most exciting events in track and field.

Most of the fans of pole vaulting arrived at the Farmer's Market early and staked out the best spots along the sidewalks of 4th Street and Pollasky Avenue. While waiting for the competitions to get started, many of them enjoyed munching on fresh fruits such as grapes, berries, and peaches from the farm stands nearby. Many of these fans also enjoyed their favorite fair goodies from the farmer's market like ice cream, shaved ice, tacos, pizza, tri-tip sandwiches, nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, and many other ready-to-eat foods there. They then settled in to watch world class athletes from across the country warm up and then compete for the top spots at the North American Pole Vault Championships.

It is easy to see that many pole vaulters at this championships event possessed the perfect combination of the accurate speed, strength, and agility to put them in advantage ahead of their competitors in each judged category.

Every year the number of fans gathering on the streets of Old Town Clovis to watch this fun and exciting sport event during Friday night Farmer's Market gets bigger and bigger. According the official website of the North American Pole Vaulting Association, there were over 10,000 fans at this year's event, cheering and having fun interacting with their favorite pole vaulters.

It was a splendid world class annual pole vaulting competition, as usual!

Editor/Publisher Clovis resident for 30 years

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