By Kami Nguyen

Town Crier Editorial Intern

Los Altos resident still competes in annual Calaveras jubilee

“I wish I knew frog talk because there would be some crazy talking going on,” said the jumping frog world record holder, referring to the times when he returns his frogs to the wild after competition.

Lee Giudici of Los Altos set the world record in 1986 when he entered his frog, Rosie the Ribiter, in the Calaveras Jumping Frog Jubilee in Angels Camp.

After three leaps, Rosie’s jump measured a combined total of 21 feet, 5 inches.

Although Giudici did not win this year’s frog jumping competition, he has won three titles since he began competing 38 years ago. The former school teacher at Sutter Elementary in Santa Clara said he had never heard of frog jumping until he began working at the school.

“When I came on board (at the school), there were some people who knew about Angel’s Camp,” he said. “They told me it was fun and that I should try it, so I gave it a try. I enjoyed seeing the frogs because that’s something you don’t see in Silicon Valley.”

Although Giudici is the holder of the world record, the road to success was not an easy one.

“The first time we searched for frogs, we searched all night,” he said. “We finally found one frog and decided to catch it. We didn’t know how to catch it and I ended up falling in the water.”

Giudici said catching the frog wasn’t the only mishap he encountered that weekend. When he finally brought the frog to Angel’s Camp, he said his “ignorance was showing very loudly.”

Forgetting that frogs were coldblooded, Giudici packed his frog in ice the night before the competition. By competition time, when Giudici brought his frog out, he found it fast asleep.

“We tried to coax it and even swatted it on the butt,” he said. “It took one mighty leap and that was it. Every frog is required to leap three times, so we were disqualified.”

Over the years, Giudici learned from his experience and found an easier way to catch frogs. Using a boat, Giudici would go along shining a bright light across the water. Not only would the bright light reflect the frog’s eyes so he would be able to locate it, but it also distracted the frog’s vision long enough for him to catch it by hand.

After capturing the frog, Giudici would give it some test jumps to see if it has what he is looking for.

“A lot of frogs take one mighty leap, and then a small one so that if there was a predator, they would overrun the frog,” Giudici said. “Some take one leap straight ahead and then might go to the left or right. I look for one that has straight leaps.”

Another aspect he looks for is the frog’s size since they are required to measure at least 4 inches long.

Giudici said he has “an edge over the competition” because he pays more attention to his little competitors more than most people would. He keeps his frogs in wet sacks in the cellar and keeps the temperature at 55 degrees. At this temperature, the frogs are warm enough to be ready for competition, he said.

Other competitors might make the mistake of warming up their frogs too much, resulting in burnout. After every competition, Giudici said he gets up early the next morning to return the frog to its exact location.

He even returned the world record setting Rosie to her rightful place after keeping her for nearly five days.

The winning frog’s leap at this year’s frog jumping competition at Angel’s Camp measured 19 feet, 7 inches.

Although it sounds close to beating the record, Giudici said, it still has a long way to go.

“A frog’s legs are maybe 6 to 8 inches long,” he said. “It’s like they have to jump an average of 7 feet per leap (to tie the world record).”

On July 4, Giudici plans to participate in another frog jump competition that will be held at Roaring Camp Railroads in Santa Cruz.

He said he won’t be competing, but will hand out frogs to anyone who wants to participate. Winners will be awarded trophies and prizes.

After the competition, participants will return the frogs, and Giudici will return them to their natural habitat.

Participants at the Calaveras Jumping Frog Jubilee can win cash prizes, Giudici said, and can receive up to $5,000 if their frog breaks the world record.