Fierljeppen

Fierljeppen or polsstokverspringen is a traditional sport of the West Frisian people in the Dutch province of Friesland. The sport is nowadays also popular in the province of Utrecht which produced record holder Jaco de Groot. Due to considerable parts of the Netherlands being under sea-level, it has many waterways. Fierljeppen originated as a way for Frisian people to get around the waterways easily. Over time it turned into a competition with the first official match in 1771 but the sport was not properly structured until 1957.