What are the bar, the uprights and the landing mat like?

• The bar: made of fibreglass or another suitable material, not metal. It is circular, 30 mm across, 4.00 m long and no heavier than 2 kg.
• The ends: each end has a flat face to sit on the support. The ends must be hard and smooth, with no rubber or anything else that adds grip.
• The supports: flat and rectangular, 40 mm wide and 60 mm long, each facing the opposite upright. If the bar is touched "it will easily fall to the ground, either forwards or backwards".
• A gap: at least 10 mm between each end of the bar and the upright.
• The uprights: any rigid style, 4.00 m to 4.04 m apart. They are not moved during the competition unless the referee decides the take-off or landing area has become unsuitable, and then only after a round of trials.
• Measuring: in whole centimetres, straight up from the ground to the lowest part of the upper side of the bar.
• Sag: the bar may sag by 20 mm at most when in place.
• The runway: at least 16 m wide and 15 m long, and 25 m long at major competitions.
• The landing area: at major competitions not smaller than 6 m by 4 m and 0.7 m high. The commentary gives 5 m by 3 m for other competitions.
• Marks: an athlete may place one or two markers, and in the high jump they may be on the runway itself.

A bar that grips its supports would stay up after a touch on one day and fall on another. The smooth ends, flat supports and limit on sag make every bar behave the same way, so a height cleared at one meeting means the same at the next.