The contest starts when the “jockey” positions his or her frog and then yells, screams, jumps up and down, puffs, blows, whistles, or does whatever else is necessary to incite the frog to jump. The one thing that is not allowed is any kind of physical contact with the frog. Each frog is given 15 seconds to jump three times. Once a frog has made its three jumps, an official measures the distance from the center of the pad to the spot where the frog landed on its third jump. Naturally, the winning frog is usually the one that jumped in the straightest line rather than zigzagged around. Some frogs frustrate their “jockey” by jumping back toward the launching pad after a spectacular first or second jump.
Like any of nature’s creations, frog are unpredictable-that is, unless they have been to Bill Steed’s famous Croaker College. Steed’s “students” are given a 240-hour frog training course to teach them the fundamentals of frog jumping under pressure. At Croaker College, the frogs work out in a pool, lift tiny weighs, do chin-ups and high dives, eat centipede soup and ladybug salad, and generally prepare for the big day. Do graduates of Croaker College really win frog-jumping contest more often? That’s a question Jim Steed prefers not to answer.
After the winners have been announced and the prizes given, the participants can take their frogs (or return their “rentals”) and go home, or they can stay and enjoy the rest of the Calaveras County Fair. They can listen to country music, view craft displays, attend a horse race, watch animal auction, and more. For those people who think nothing quite compares to the excitement of the jumping frogs, however, there is the consolation of knowing there is always next year.