Do you Double Dutch?

This is often the first question I am asked when people find out that I have done competitive jump rope for most of my life. Jump rope is something that I am commonly associated with, in many situations it is how people identify me to those who might not know me personally, and for good reason. I have done competitive jump rope for going on 12 years now, and I spent many summers growing up traveling the country to go to competitions. I was a member of the Super Skippers from 5th to 12th grade, and we won the national title of best team in the country at the USA Jump Rope competition for seven years straight during my time on the team. Jump rope shaped me in many ways, and I would not be the person I am today if I hadn’t picked up a jump rope that first time. 

At competitions the double dutch events were always my favorite, likely because they tended to be where I did the best. By far my favorite memories of actually competing are moments of hitting a double dutch routine clean and running to hug my group after the routine was done. The joy of hitting a routine clean after spending a whole year working on it with some of my teammates is unlike anything else I have experienced in my life, and it’s definitely one of the things I miss the most in looking back on my years of competing with the Super Skippers.

I learned a lot about working with others and being creative through making these routines, and I loved the moments where things would finally click and a section of a routine would hit for the first time. The creativity that people can have in jump rope is one of the things that drew me to the sport, and people continue to surprise me with the amazing skills they come up with to this day. While I enjoy competing events other than the double dutch ones, double dutch will always hold a special place in my heart. 

I am thankful that I still have the opportunity to jump with a team today through Carolina Jump Rope, and double dutch is a team favorite when it comes to learning new skills. I love watching our new members get excited about getting a new trick, and I can’t wait to see what all we accomplish as a team come April when we travel to Ohio to compete at the National Collegiate Jump Rope Championships

Because jump rope has played such a big role in my life, I am happy to be known as “the jump rope girl” by those who might not know me super well yet. I can’t imagine my life without jump rope in it, and I’m always happy to talk about it whenever someone asks, “Do you double dutch?”



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