Competitive jump-rope teams attend workshop

~ the Alpha Omega Jumpers is the only competitive jump rope team in Missouri

Cape Bible Chapel jumped with activity Saturday while two competitive jump-rope teams learned, taught and practiced competition double-Dutch speed, double-Dutch freestyle, the Chinese wheel, synchronized routines and individual tricks.

The Alpha Omega Jumpers, a Cape Girardeau competitive jump-rope team, hosted the Comet Skippers of Ohio at a jump skills workshop from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Cape Bible Chapel gym.

Alpha Omega Jumpers head coach Darla Beller said the team had gone to the Ohio team's workshops in 2006 and 2007, and they offered to come here for a workshop. Beller said the Alpha Omega Jumpers is the only competitive jump-rope team in Missouri.

Comet Skippers head coach Carmen Simpson believes teaching, encouraging, developing and competing with other teams will promote the sport of jump-roping for the Olympics. The Comet Skippers have competed in many international tournaments.

"Jump rope is not the backyard sport it used to be," Simpson said. While licorice ropes are for beginners, wire ropes are not. "Jumpers are not given wire ropes until they can jump 240 times per minute." A demonstration proved that an inexperienced jumper could easily be cut by the wire if they missed jumps while trying to speed jump.

Friends first

Some of the fiercest competitors are friends first.

"Developing friendships with the competition is unique to the sport," Simpson said. She said the Comet Skippers, like many competitive jump-rope teams, like to mentor and earn their peers' respect because it makes better jumpers.

"Sports Illustrated said [in February 2006] that we were the only untainted sport left," she said. "We get excited seeing jumpers we know at competition. It doesn't matter if they're better than you."

Lauren Johnson, 13, started jumping in third grade as her physical education requirement as a homeschooled student. By seventh grade, some of the friends she had at Jackson schools were asking her to teach them how to jump so they would have an edge at school.

"I think it's a really good sport to get into: The parents are nice, there's no arguing, we all share stuff and kids lose weight," she said. Johnson likes volleyball and tennis but doesn't have the opportunity for them. "This is my sport. I'm good at it and I can be proud of myself," she said.

Efficient exercise

Beller said the jumpers don't know how much they're exercising. "About three minutes of speed jumping is equal to 20 minutes of running," Simpson said. While developing cardiovascular strength is important, jump-roping doesn't stop there. Simpson said many of the moves in jumping rope require crossing over the midline, which gets the body neurologically processing. "This increases reading and math ability," she said.

"There are opportunity levels for all," Beller said. "They can jump alone, in pairs, groups of three to four and large groups at shows. It helps kids who are autistic, kids with ADD and cerebral palsy."

Simpson said, "They have to learn to work together and do it well enough to be successful. It's about developing positive leaders for the future."

"I don't separate anyone in the group," Beller said. "Strong personalities have to learn to work together."

The Alpha Omega double-Dutch teams are together for a year and to Beller it makes sense because they learn to understand each other, get used to each other's quirks and read each others' cues.

Jerress Pendleton, 13, of Mason, Ohio, is in his second year of jumping for the Comet Skippers. He was featured on an Xbox commercial in 2006 doing a donkey kick, an individual jump-rope trick. Jerress plans to compete at a national competition in Orlando, Fla., and in July he's going to South Africa for an international competition. It will be his first time traveling outside the U.S.

For more information on the Comet Skippers, visit www.cometskippers.org.

Those interested in joining the Alpha Omega Jumpers should contact Beller at 382-2388.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133