Frog jumping contest

Frog jumping is a competitive pastime in which frogs compete to jump certain distances. Frog jumping contests are held in small communities scattered around the United States, as part of the folk culture.

Frog jumping was made famous in a short story by Mark Twain, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." An event has been held annually in Calaveras County since 1928, with other events held in Indiana, Ohio, Washington, Maine, Missouri, Louisiana, New York, and also in Manitoba, Canada. With 4,000 contestants in 2007, the Calaveras County contest has strict rules regulating the frogs' welfare, including limiting the daily number of a frog's jumps, and mandating the playing of calming music in their enclosures. The endangered California Red-legged Frog may not be entered in the competition. Participants entering the longest jumping frog were to win a $750 prize or $5,000 if their frog breaks the 1986 record of 21 feet, 5¾ inches set by Rosie the Ribeter.

Bibliography

• USA Today article
• Celebrating, and Quarreling Over, Frogs

External links

• Frog Jumping Championships World Headquarters
• The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
• Voa News
• St. Pierre Frog Follies, St. Pierre, Manitoba
• Vanderburgh County Fair, Indiana
• Green Camp Firefighters Barbecue Festival, Marion, Oh
• Frog Jump Festival, Valley City, Ohio
• Piscataquis Valley Fair Annual Frog Jumping Contest, Dover-Foxcroft, Me
• Corcoran YMCA Frog Jumping Contest, Hanford, Ca
• Hannibal, Missouri Jaycees
• Pemberville Fair, Pemberville, Ohio
• Ilion Days Frog Jumping Contest, Ilion, NY

See also

• "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"