The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

HIGH LEAPING. 79 extending overa quarter ofa century in most counties of Scot­ land, and afew in England, the writer never once saw the high leap done on level ground throughout with level cross bar and accurate measurement. High leapers invariably look for some elevation in the ground to jump from, and jump not from the top of the elevation but from the side of it over the top. In many fields, where gatherings areheld, there arethe ridges and furrows left by the plough. Where this is the case, andboth side and straight forward leapers amongst the competitors, there isinvariably much wordy warfare as to the placing ofthe up­ rights. Suppose the uprights areplaced at right angles with the top of the ridge. Then the straight forward leapers run along the top of the ridge and leap off the top, whereas the side leapers, starting from the topof the parallel ridge, run down the sideof itand up the side ofthe ridge the uprights are set on, and leap from just below the topof it. Now, the spectators and novices at high leaping at once imagine the straight forward leapers, running on the level, or it may be slightly down hill, and leap­ ing from slightly higher ground,have a considerable advantage over the side leapers running slightly up hill at the finish, and jumping froma slightly lower elevation. Yet the advantage isall with the side leapers, asa simple illustration will show. Let any one take a hollow indiarubber ball and throw itat an angle of 45 degrees on the ground where thestraight forward leapers rise from, and inthe direction they leap, and then throw it at the sameangle onthe spot where the side leapers rise from, a little below and facing the top of the ridge. In the first instance it will be found that the ball will reboundwithout rising far from the ground, and fall at a considerable distance from where it rose ; inthe second instance the ball will rebound, rising nearly perpendicularly to a good height, andfall not far from where itrose. In the sameway the straightforward leaper with no rise in the groundto meet him and throw him up, asit were, makes acomparatively long and low leap, rising a good way from the baron one side, and alighting a good way from it