Abstract: An athletic pole including a handle, a shaft, and a handle-to-shaft transition assembly, the transition assembly adapted for allowing the handle to articulate. The transition assembly includes an enlarged shaft base on the shaft, the shaft base including a handle-base-engaging surface. The transition assembly also includes an enlarged handle base on the handle. The handle base and the shaft base are biased together by a tension force into a mating, coaxially aligned position when any bending forces applied to the pole are insufficient to overcome the tension force, the handle being pivotable to an articulated position relative to the shaft upon the application of a predetermined bending force on the pole sufficient to overcome the tension force.

Abstract: An athletic pole including a handle, a s haft, and a handle-to-shaft transition assembly, the transition assembly being adapted for allowing the handle to articulate and for minimizing rotational motion of the handle relative to the shaft during pole operation. The transition assembly includes an enlarged shaft base on the shaft and an enlarged handle base on the handle. The shaft base includes a handle-base-engaging surface, a raised alignment post on the handle-base-engaging surface, axial splines formed with the alignment post, and radial splines extending along the handle-base-engaging surface of the shaft base. The handle base includes a shaft-base-engaging surface having spline grooves complementary to the radial splines and the axial splines of the shaft base.

Abstract: An athletic pole adapted for minimizing injuries to the hand and wrist of the user in the event of an accident. The pole includes a handle having an enlarged handle base, a shaft extending from the handle and including a proximal end adjacent the handle, a distal end, and an enlarged shaft base on the proximal end that normally engages the handle base. The pole also includes an attachment device for attaching the handle to the shaft and a biasing device exerting sufficient tension on the attachment device for biasing the attachment device to maintain the handle base and the shaft base in a mating, coaxial position during normal use. The periphery of the handle base and the periphery of the shaft base collectively form a fulcrum point for permitting controlled, tensioned articulation of the handle relative to the shaft. Such articulation results when a predetermined bending force is applied to the pole that is sufficient to overcome the tension of the biasing device on the attachment device.