What has a giant stick, superior upper body strength, and can cross a canal in a single bound? If you answered “fierljepper,” you’re right! There are a lot of letters in the word, so here’s the breakdown. Fier-ljep-pen — pronounced "feer-LYEP-en” — means “far leap.” The goal of fierljeppen is to get as far as possible from the starting point while crossing a canal. Sounds easy, right? Not really. It’s a sport that was born out of necessity. Farmers in the 1200s began the practice when they decided that instead of going around the water, they would go over it. Today, bridges and roads that have been built over the years have reduced the need for fierljeppen as a method of transportation. By launching themselves through the air at the mercy of a stick, the Dutch turned it into a competitive sport in 1975. So, how do you fierljep? To begin, fierljeppers sprint like mad 50-65 feet towards a canal. When they reach the canal, they grab hold of a large pole (polsstok) and push it into the bottom of the muddy water. Relying on brute force and gravity, they rapidly climb and attempt to control the pole midair as it begins to swing to the opposite side. If successful, fierljeppers land gracefully on the other side of the canal on a soft bed of sand. If unsuccessful, well……. So how far is a far leap? When fierljeppen began, leapers would jump around 32 feet. Thanks to a better understanding of the sport and changes in pole material, the world record distance for fierljeppen is now 72.8 feet. Today there are over 600 registered jumpers in the Netherlands, with various clubs springing up all over the world.
