Leapers

Frogs jumped all over Manhattan last week. Out of nearly 700 contestants, 34 made the finals of the first city championships since 1935. Winners: Baby, an entry of the Boys Club, 5 ft. flat; Superman of the Y.M.C.A., 4 ft. 6 in.; an unchristened Police Athletic League leaper, 4 ft. 5 in.

In competition, frogs jump from the center of a ring. A "jump" is actually three successive .leaps. Official length of the jump is the distance from the center of the ring to the final resting place. A jumping frog's handler (known as a "jockey") is forbidden to touch him after the first leap. Just before the first, the jockey is allowed to give him just one brisk flick, or tickle.

At rest, any frog may look like a winner. Neither giants nor runts are apt to be champions. Frogs are simply observed in their natural surroundings, and chosen on the basis of performance. Once they join a stable, they are kept in dark, damp, healthful surroundings. Just before being sent into competition, they are subjected to enforced idleness.

Jumping frogs come from all over. Last week's Manhattan competitors came from frog farms in Vermont and New Jersey. The New Jersey contribution was by Warner Bros., whose interest in the affair was tainted with professionalism (see p. 56). The winners' jockeys, all boys, achieved their victories in various ways. Baby's jockey gave him a fight talk; Superman's said a last-minute prayer; the nameless leaper's rested on his luck. Flash, the world-champion jumper (15 ft. 10 in. in 1941), gave a demonstration, but the best that was in him was 3 ft. 6 in. Jumpers burn out young.

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