Another winter pastime in Froglandia is the game of Tadpole. Tadpole is played on an elliptical snow-covered pitch, with a pit in the middle. The pitch is fifteen leaps long, and ten leaps wide. That would be something like sixty yards by forty yards, or fifty-five meters by thirty-seven meters, roughly. And roughly is how the game is played! The center pit is 1 leap in diameter, deepening to knee deep at the center. This is the “pond”. Each team has five “tadpoles”, which are passed in to them from opposing ends of the field by their “Grandfather”. The team must deposit their tadpole in the pond before receiving another. The first team to get all their tadpoles in the pond wins. Each team has 14 members, and each member must defend and advance as needed, though some specialization is expected. In neighborhood games, the number of players depends on the availability of players, of course. A tadpole is a rather weighty ball, with a tail. You may throw the tadpole by its tail, but may not be moving when doing so. If you pick it up, you must stop moving. Otherwise, kicking is the main means of locomotion. This presents a challenge, as the tail prevents you from kicking it directly. The pond cannot be directly approached, as the tadpole will slide along the snow with its tail behind it, with the tail being in the way for kicking. If you kick the opposing team’s tadpole out of bounds, it returns to their grandfather. Professional tadpole teams wear the traditional felt hat, white dress and dark suit coat to honor St. Teresa of the Little Frogs, who often attends games. Tadpole has often been described as “sheer madness”.
Another winter pastime in Froglandia is the game of Tadpole. Tadpole is played on an elliptical snow-covered pitch, with a pit in the middle. The pitch is fifteen leaps long, and ten leaps wide. That would be something like sixty yards by forty yards, or fifty-five meters by thirty-seven meters, roughly. And roughly is how the game is played! The center pit is 1 leap in diameter, deepening to knee deep at the center. This is the “pond”. Each team has five “tadpoles”, which are passed in to them from opposing ends of the field by their “Grandfather”. The team must deposit their tadpole in the pond before receiving another. The first team to get all their tadpoles in the pond wins. Each team has 14 members, and each member must defend and advance as needed, though some specialization is expected. In neighborhood games, the number of players depends on the availability of players, of course. A tadpole is a rather weighty ball, with a tail. You may throw the tadpole by its tail, but may not be moving when doing so. If you pick it up, you must stop moving. Otherwise, kicking is the main means of locomotion. This presents a challenge, as the tail prevents you from kicking it directly. The pond cannot be directly approached, as the tadpole will slide along the snow with its tail behind it, with the tail being in the way for kicking. If you kick the opposing team’s tadpole out of bounds, it returns to their grandfather. Professional tadpole teams wear the traditional felt hat, white dress and dark suit coat to honor St. Teresa of the Little Frogs, who often attends games. Tadpole has often been described as “sheer madness”.