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Evolution of the High Jump The event now known as the high jump is thought to have occurred much earlier than recorded competition. (Ryan, 1) The first recorded competition happened in the early 1820?s in the professional Lowland Games of Scotland, where heights of 5?4? to 5?7? were recorded. (McNab, 109) At this time there were no standard rules or pit for the event so the heights of this time could not be classified as world records. (McNab, 109) The rules that then became standard were: 1) The jump must be made off of one foot. 2) The standards holding the bar face inwards. 3) The jumper has a miss if they dislodge the bar from the standards. 4) The jumper has a miss if they break the imaginary plane between the pit and the standards. 5) Three consecutive misses at any single height result in the end of competition for that particular jumper. (McNab, 116) The first official clearance of 6?0? was by M.C. Brooks of Oxford in 1876, this was later broken in 1891 by a 6?4 1/2? effort from an American named W. Byrd Page. (McNab, 109) The first height that was recognized, as an official world record was in 1895 an Irish American, who is thought to have invented the eastern, cut off, with a height of 6? 5 5/