A burst vertebra and a spinal cord injury sustained in a fall from a pole during training for the tough discipline of pole and aerial sports has not stopped South Africa’s Kaitlin Rawson from competing.

The elastic athlete is on the 10-member Team SA competing at the World Pole and Aerial Championships, starting on 27 October in Switzerland. She will be competing in the para-pole division.

She originally joined pole sports almost by accident, trying out a class on a whim with her mother, Debbie Rawson – who will be competing in the Masters 40+ division at the world championships – in 2014.

“It just seemed so fun and interesting, not like anything I had ever seen before. When I started I was not very into sports or fitness and it seemed like a really fun way to stay active,” Rawson told Daily Maverick.

But tragedy struck two years later when Rawson lost her grip on the pole and fell awkwardly, breaking her neck.

She was in intensive care for a week and the results of her injury linger today.

“I had a burst C5 vertebra that resulted in a spinal cord injury. I had to spend three months in a rehab hospital, learning how to do basic things like walk and feed myself again. I was able to start dancing again in 2017 and worked my way up to having the strength to compete.”

Rawson’s serious injury has not stopped her from continuing what she’s found to be her passion.

Kaitlin Rawson in her national colours. (Picture courtesy of Anna Smith Photography)

“Initially the impact was quite severe on day-to-day life, but as I have recovered the impact has gotten less and less severe,” she said. “Now in everyday life my injury does not affect me too much, just aches and pains, mostly in my neck, especially in cold weather.

“In terms of pole, it has quite a significant effect. Because of the nerve damage my reaction times are slower, especially on the right side of my body, which makes dynamic movements on the pole quite difficult.

“My right leg and foot are also quite weak compared with the other leg, and that can have an impact on certain moves, especially when it comes to pointing my toes.”

Taking on the world

Rawson competed in the PPM1 (impaired muscle power, able to walk) division at her first world championships, in 2019 in Canada where she placed second.

The 2020 championships were cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The event was held virtually in 2021 so Rawson had to enter a video recording of her routine, and she placed first.

This means Rawson is heading to Switzerland as the world’s best in her category.

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Despite the tag, Rawson’s aspirations at the world championships extend beyond beating her competitors.

“This year I am hoping to break the world record for my category,” she said.

The world-record score in the PPM1 category is 35, held by Isabel Aguilar from Mexico. “I scored 32.5 at the South African Pole Sport Federation national competition this year, so I need to increase my score by 2.5.”

The Johannesburg native has been putting in extra work to reach her goal. She trains two to three times a week with her coach, each session lasting about three hours, on top of daily flexibility and cardio training.

Pole Sports requires strength, agility, flexibility and courage. Kaitlin Rawson (pictured) broke her neck in 2016 in a fall. (Picture courtesy of Anna Smith Photography)

Combating stereotypes

Surprisingly, South Africa has a relatively large pole industry compared with a number of nations at the World Pole and Aerial Sports Championships, which are usually a happy hunting ground for the talented South African athletes.

South Africa’s Claudia Moruzzi – an inspiration to many local pole athletes – holds the world record in the Women’s Masters 40+ Artistic Pole category.

Despite its popularity in South Africa, pole dancing remains a niche sport, and because most people aren’t aware it is globally recognised, involving acrobatic strength and movements, it is often stigmatised, something Rawson is trying to combat.

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“The biggest thing for me is just getting more people to see what pole sports is and what it is about. There are a lot of different types of pole dancing and there really is something for everyone,” Rawson said.

“I try not to let the preconceptions people have about pole dancing get to me at all, because I know that most of the time it comes from a place of not knowing and understanding what the pole and aerial industry is like.

“That is why I really try my best to spread as much awareness about the sport as I can so that people can see and get to know about all the different facets of pole dancing.”

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But pole athletes’ problems extend further than public perception.

Pole and aerial sports do not compete under the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), which awards national Protea colours.

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“Pole is still quite a small sport and does not get much support or recognition outside the industry,” said Rawson. “It makes it really difficult for the athletes because we have to almost entirely self-fund our training and the expenses of travelling to the competition.

“There is one company called Infinity Grip that makes pole grips who very generously sponsored our national team tracksuits, but other than that there is not much monetary support.

“Having an organisation like Sascoc support us would definitely be beneficial to the athletes. At the moment, because of the lack of funding, a lot of people are not able to compete just because of the cost, and although South Africa has quite a large and accomplished Pole and Aerial team it would be great if we could expand it even more in the future.” DM