The Athletes and Athletic Sports of Scotland

So ATHLETIC SPORTS OF SCOTLAND. on the otherside. On the other hand, the side leaper is met by the risein front, sothat almostthe wholeimpetus of his race is expended in throwing him upwards, and he risesclose tothe bar on one sideand alights close toit on the other. When the cross bar is parallel with the topof the ridge itis placed alittle beyond it, as the front leapers donot rise so close to it as the side leapers, and the advantage is with the front leapers, the side leapers finding the top of the ridge toofar from the cross bar, and have no rising ground to throw them up. When the ground is about level, without regular ridges, bothside and front leapers look for some slightrise in the groundfor a take-off, and it is this that gives rise to the uncertainty as to the reallybest performances. The uprights are put in a little beyond the top of the elevation,or "kep," as it is technically called inScotland, and asthe leapers rise alittle from the top on the other side, they claim that, as the take-off is on a level with the ground at the pointit is measured from, the height cleared is the genuine value of the leap. Putting aside the fact that inrising from the face of the elevation the heel and toe areat different elevations, and allowingthat the mark made by the leaper's heel isoften on much the sameelevation as the point measured from, yet it is clear that a leap made in these circumstances is not a fair leap, if a leap made on level ground is a fair leap. The elevation chosen to rise from is practically as much an artificial aidas the wooden block used by some leapers to rise from. Of such aid is it to have the toe supported by a higher elevation than the heel, that Hugh Andrews, if put to jump on level ground with­ out an elevation, would rather make asmall hollow, so that his heel would be an inch or two below the level of the ground, than have tojump from level ground with toe and heel onthe same level. Yet it is almost unnecessary to state that the only genuine performancein high leaping is that done from level ground throughout, over a crossbar as nearly as possible per­ fectly horizontal. It is claimed that the various extraordinary performances of amateurs have all been done under circum-