Santa Monica Police Deputy Chief Phillip L. Sanchez pretends to hopscotch during Scott Wasserman's Farewell Party at Virginia Avenue Park on Thursday, February 28, 2008.  According to wikipedia.org, Hopscotch began in ancient Britain during the early Roman Empire. The original hopscotch courts were over 100 feet long and used for military training exercises. Roman foot-soldiers ran the course in full armor and field packs to improve their footwork, much the same way modern football players run through rows of truck tires today. Roman children imitated the soldiers by drawing their own boards and creating a scoring system, and "Hopscotch" spread throughout Europe.