our sport
While everyone has skipped or watched kids jump rope, few realize that skipping or jump rope is also practiced at a competitive level. Serious jump rope athletes train rigorously year-round. Jumping rope takes immense strength, endurance, focus, and patience, and can be much more than a schoolyard game of chanting rhymes.
Athletes compete in individual and team events using single or double ropes ("Double-Dutch") in speed, endurance and freestyle events. In freestyle events, athletes have a set time limit to demonstrate a combination of skills which are choreographed to music. During the speed events, athletes try to complete as many jumps as possible within a particular amount of time. For example, the world record for 30 second speed is 194 jumps, an amazing 388 revolutions per minute. At that speed, the rope moves at 130 km/hr, fast enough to pass most cars on our highways.
Jump rope exhibitions are also frequently staged at events such as festivals, charity functions, and sporting half-time shows.
Competitive jump rope teams attend workshops, training camps, perform for the public, and compete against each other throughout the year. Competing teams consist of athletes of all ages, but are most commonly elementary to high school-aged individuals.
In Canada, the governing jump rope organization is the Canadian Rope Skipping Federation, with assistance from its provincial counterparts such as the Ontario Rope Skipping Organization. With 41 Jump Rope teams and almost 1400 competitive jump rope athletes, Canada makes up about 10% of the world-wide jump rope community of 400 teams and 13,000 athletes.
In Canada, the governing jump rope organization is the Canadian Rope Skipping Federation, with assistance from its provincial counterparts such as the Ontario Rope Skipping Organization. With 41 Jump Rope teams and almost 1400 competitive jump rope athletes, Canada makes up about 10% of the world-wide jump rope community of 400 teams and 13,000 athletes.
A little history
Skipping literally started as jump rope. Many historians believe that when ancient Egyptian and Chinese rope makers were twisting long strands of hemp into ropes, they needed to jump over them to retrieve strands. They developed this skill and their children began to imitate and invent games with small pieces of rope. Traveling sailors having seen the fun the children were having, and took the ideas and games back to their own land and children.
Rope skipping was taken to America by Dutch settlers during the 1600's and has been written about by English settlers, who migrated to New Amsterdam, later to become known as New York.
During the 1700's rope skipping was mainly performed by boys, as the culture of the time did not encourage girls to be physically active in case they harmed themselves. With changes in the 1800's both boys and girls were encouraged to play in games using skipping. During this time three types of skipping evolved - 1) single rope activities, 2) long rope with two turners and 3) double dutch with two ropes turning in opposite directions.
As girls became more involved in rope skipping during the 1900's, they invented different rhythms and singing games and it became a popular activity
Skipping, rope skipping, jump-rope, or whatever they want to call it. When it comes to the crunch it is an excellent exercise that is relatively easy, has a multitude of benefits and a low injury risk factor.
get started
1 Join our recreational classes
2 Practice skills weekly
3 Try out for our competitive team