Fierljeppen
This month we are going to look at an incredibly beloved Frisian sport, which is a mouthful to say but literally means far leap and is not as easy as it looks.
Back in the 13th century in West Friesland, farmers were getting tired of walking all the way around ditches in their fields, and there were a lot of ditches. Since building multiple bridges wasn’t a practical solution, the ever innovative Frisians came up with a better way. They got long, sturdy poles, took a running leap, stuck the pole in the water, and threw themselves to the other side of the ditch. Most of the time they were successful, since landing in a ditch filled with dirty water was not appealing. Fierljeppen became extremely popular. The Dutch, being quite competitive, began having tournaments in 1767, and the sport was formally organized in 1957. There are currently over 600 registered jumpers in The Netherlands.
This sport does not have many rules. The goal is to leap farther than your opponents. Instead of using a stick, most poles are now made out of aluminum or composite. There is no standard height required with poles ranging from 8-13 metres. A round disk is attached to the bottom of the pole, to prevent it from sinking into the mud. The leaper takes a 15-20 metre run, grabs the pole, and climbs up as quickly as able, all the while trying to keep the pole upright. Once the pole leans to the other side of the canal, the leaper jumps as far as possible, landing in soft sand. The idea is to jump farther than anyone else. Currently the record is held by Jaco de Groot, who jumped an astounding 22.1 metres!
Of course, no competition would be complete without an after party and fierljeppen has turned into quite the community event, with live music, food trucks, beer tents and much more. Dutch hospitality is at it’s finest, and often more than 2,000 guests attend these festivals. Developed out of necessity, fierljeppen has turned into a fun, lively way for people to enjoy themselves!
