Manual of British Rural Sports by Stonehenge 17th Edition

PEDESTBIANISM. 617 all the joints, by which the body is jirojected into the air, clear off the ground. In all leaps, besides those of the lower limbs, the whole of the muscles are violently in action, and especially those of the abdomen and back. In the running high leap, a run of ten to a dozen paces should be taken, but the distance varies according to habit with almost every leaper. Too long a run, however, isapt to exhaust the jumper needlessly. The take off should be at a distance of abouthalf the height to be cleared. The legs should be brought well under the body, and care taken to get the trunk in addition to the limbs clear of the obstacle. In a standing high jump the legs should be brought close together, the knees considerably bent, the hips thrown back and shoulders forward, with the head well up. The arms are swung back­ wardsand for-wards, the body sinks till the calves touch the back of the thighs, and then by a rapid extension of all partsin unison with the swing of the arms, the body is projected over the height to be cleared, anddescends on the toes and balls of the feet. In the running wide leap, a longer preparatory run of twenty to twenty-five short and quick paces is required, great care being taken not to get out of step, and to take off as close to the score as pos­ sible. The leaper should alighton his heels; and in case any part of the body touches the ground behind his hindermost heel, the jump is a foul one, and cannot count. A standing wide leap is effected in the same way as a high one, with less contraction of the legs and more swinging of the arms. HOP, STEP, AND JUMP, is a kind of leaping now almost obsolete, andcon­ sists of a long hop, a long step,and a long jump at one flying start. POLE LEAPING is almost invariably practised over aheight. The pole should he of fir or ash, from eleven to twelve feet in length, according to the height of the leaper ; it should taper towards the top, and have a steel spike at the foot. It must be grasped firmly, with the hands from two tothree feet apart, and the uppermost one at about the height to be cleared. A run of from twelve to fifteenpaces shouldbe taken, and the attention fined on the bar or other object to be cleared. The weight of the body must be raised by the arms, fie legs at he same time surmounting the obstacle. While inthe air theface is reversed fromthe side to which the body springs to that from which it sprung. On reaching the bar the pole must be let go and dropped on the taking off side. SECT. 2.—OTHER SPORTS AT ATHLETIC MEEVINGS. With walking, running,and leaping, other sports are almost always in­ cluded at our athletic meetings. The chief are the following :— THROWING THE HAMMER is an inno­ vation from over the border. TheWeight of the hammer is 16 lbs., including a handle from 3 feet to 3 feet 6 inches long, according to the height of the thrower. A wild kind of war-dance should be taken in the direction tobe thrown, the hammer being swung round in a plane atright angles to the vertical position of the body. A final impetus should begiven in the last halfof the last turn, as the greatestmomentum is thus acquiredas the handle leaves the hands. Care must be taken to keep the missile low,otherwise the curvatureof its flight will be toohigh. The throw­ ing takes place fromwithin acircle of 7 feet in diameter, thedistance being measured fromthe circumference of the circle to the firstpitch of the hammer, along aline drawn from that pitch to the centre of the circle. In PUTTING THE WEIGHT (16 lbs.), two lines, 7 feet apart, are drawn on the ground, over the foremostof which the weight (generally a cannon-ball) has to be put by the competitor. No part of the body may pass the limit between these lines either before or after the "put." The weight of the body ought to be on the right foot, which should beplaced on the hinder- most line, the left being rested lightly, about midwaybetween thetwo scores, with the weightof course in the right hand. The competitor should then rise and fall on theballs of the feet, shifting to and fro, and gradually gaining an im­ petus, the hand supporting the weight resting on theshoulder. When a suf­ ficient impetus is thus obtained, the l ft leg should be made a pivot, round which the right leg and the body are swung till the right foot touches the further line, at which instant the weight should be let go withas much