On April 23rd, 2023, the pole dancing community lost a friend named Michael Egan who passed away after competing at Pole Sport Organization’s Atlantic competition in Virginia. This loss has shocked the pole dancing community and we are demanding that PSO hire medical personell to be present at all of their competitions. As of today, May 17th 2023, PSO has shared no updates on their plans to improve their safety measures at their competitions. On May 2nd the posted an “apology” on Instagram with the comments turned off. This post angered everyone due to it sounding like they cared more about their reputation than the lives of their competitors. 

PSO has known about the lack of safety measures for years. According to other people dancers I’ve spoken with online, they used to have medical staff at their competitions years ago. Why did they get rid of the medical staff? Pole dancing is in inherently dangerous sport. The chance of falling and being injured is very high, even for advanced athletes. PSO should have proper safety precautions, safety training for their volunteers, and an ambulance on site at every single event they hold. 

Michael’s death is not the only serious incident that has occurred at a PSO event. Several other serious injuries have been reported over the years. Last year at PSO Amsterdam, a girl broke her hand on stage and the only thing they could do to help was call her an uber so she should go to the hospital. This is merely one incident out of many. 

We, as a community of people who love pole dance and care about the safety of our fellow polers, call on PSO to take action and provide a safe space to compete. Please sign this petition so we can make this necessary change.