Athletics and Football (extract)

142 ATHLETICS as each competitor has three tries at each height, and the mat­ tress, handkerchief, and paper have to be shifted about at each jump. Luckily,even the most obligingofficialscannot be asked to put a curtain over the sun for the jumpers' convenience. The jumper has to get himselffit in the same way as the sprinter. He must become strong, light, and hardy without becoming stiff. As a bye-play, then, he will do no harm if he indulges in a bit of sprinting and takes exercise canters, being careful to keep upon his toes ; and the more he avails himself of the services of a rubber the better. For his main practice he must jump over the bar daily, being cautious not to overdo himself any day, and if he be wise he should learn to take off both against the wind and with it and under all sorts of atmo­ spheric conditions, as he will then be less likely to be 'put off' whenhe appears upon a strange ground to take part in a com­ petition. Of late years it has been the practice to put the posts upon the cinder-path or to have a ' take off' of cinders for the jumpers. Some of the performers, however, prefer taking off fromgrass under any circumstances, and no doubt they are right in think­ ing that good dry springy turf is better than cinders. At the same time we have plenty of rain in England; the grass is sometimes too slippery for fair jumping, and in such a state that even a sprinklingof cinders or sawdust is insufficient to get it into condition. The managers of a meeting should be careful,if they intend their jumps to be upon the grass, to cover up their 'take off' for a day or two beforehand. At the same time the jumper will be wiseif he can get the opportunity to practise both upon cinders and turf, and he willthus be pre­ pared for all emergencies. The usual practice in competition is for the bar to be raised one inch each time, and not more, when the jumpers are begin­ ning to approach the end of their tether; but they are usually givena few jumps at lower heights to start with to get their legs into form. In the championship the bar is usuallyplaced at firstat 5 ft., then raised to 5ft. 2 in., then to 5 ft. 4 in., and then