07 August, 2006

Fierljeppen: catch the fever



Ladies and gentlemen, I give you fierljeppen (pronounced: fear-l-yeppen), a traditional Dutch sport, precursor to pole vaulting. I learned about this sport the other day, when someone set simultaneous records for distance jumped and self-punishment. The two go hand in hand in this sport, but more on that below.

The origin of fierljeppen, like most forms of Calvinist recreation, is functional. The Netherlands, or lowlands, being formerly underwater -- except for the series of natural dykes (like small island chains) on which really stubborn, geographically challenged farmers originally set up shop -- it was pretty hard to get around. And you couldn't drag your boat everywhere any more than you could own enough boats to have them handy all around the farm. (Farms on water-logged dykes allow for only so much excess wealth.) So, refusing to do anything reasonable like move to France, you walked around with a long stick and threw yourself over the water, from highground to highground, as it were.

Today, people in the north of the country, where it all started, continue to throw themselves over the water. They're no longer doing this, for the most part, on farms, so they appear to have opted to land in sandlots, instead. The result being: the better you are, the greater the height from which you are falling onto a rural driveway.

In the video above, rather than seeing entirely traditional fierljeppers, we see evidence of fierljeppen's siren song, spreading the world over. The instructor lands, uncharacteristically, on his feet; the students do about as well as one could expect.

For some real fierljeppen, however, try the video links on this page. I commend your attention to the righteous, bearded spectator on the bench in the first video linked, top of the list. Is that Bruce Jenner?

Glory untold to the person who can name the sport that's even cooler than this one. Yes, it's out there.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I liked the video very much. I was one of the instructors in 1999 to introduce this sport. Take a look et my site and watch the Dutch fierljeppers make their jump www.fierljepfoto.nl

30 September, 2006 22:00  
Blogger General Bird said...

Bedankt Wim -- leuke site. The action photos are especially cool.

Go fierljeppers!

GB

01 October, 2006 03:31  

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