Patent ID: 7244216

Claim:
An apparatus for preventing serious injuries to a person participating in a physical activity at least partially over a hard surface, the apparatus comprising: at least one safety net being movable between deployed and retracted positions, wherein the at least one safety net substantially does not impede the physical activity while in the retracted position and cushions the person from falling onto the hard surface while in the deployed position; detection means for detecting predetermined criteria indicative of a condition which requires deployment of the at least one safety net into the deployed position; and deployment means for deploying the at least one safety net over the hard surfaces upon detection of the predetermined criteria; wherein the physical activity is pole-vaulting and the condition is a likelihood that the person will be injured by falling onto the hard surface, the detection means comprises one or more sensors for detecting the predetermined criteria and the one or more sensors comprises a vault box sensor operatively connected with a vault box for detecting the insertion of a pole therein for use in pole-vaulting.