A Brief History
In the United States, Rope Jumping has been a sport since
at least 1973 when the American Double Dutch League (ADDL) held it's first
competition and their tournaments continue to today. While ADDL's
competitions are restricted to Double Dutch jumping speed and freestyle
competition, a small town in Wisconsin,
Bloomer, has held 10 second speed
jumping competitions for many years as well. Tournaments that included both Double
Dutch and Single Rope jumping events began in earnest in 1981 with the
International Rope Skipping Organization. That organization was later to merge with the World
Rope Skipping Federation and become the current U.S.A. Jump Rope Federation
(USAJRF).
At present, USAJRF holds 10 regional tournaments and a national tournament each year. Similar organizations have formed in European countries with the European Rope Skipping Organization (ERSO) being their umbrella organization, Canada, and in Australia. These countries send their champions every other year to compete in the "Federation Internationale De Saut A La Corde*" (FISAC) tournament.
*Translation: "International Federation of Jump Rope."
The Sport - Its Potential
The often stated goal of jump rope enthusiasts around the globe
is have the sport qualify as an Olympic event. If it weren't for the
politics, money, and the "already-event-crowded" nature of the Olympics, I
would think that this sport would be an eventual "shoo in."
Consider:
-
The required equipment and facilities are very inexpensive and not dependent on the weather which makes the sport accessible to all people around the globe.
-
Events are possible that stress speed, endurance, athleticism (routines with difficult skills), or artistry. Admittedly, events stressing raw endurance or focused on artistry are not existent today, to my knowledge. If the sport continues to evolve and expand, however, it's likely that these events will eventually be added.
-
There is incredible diversity in the sport. Besides having at least 5 major different groups of jump rope skills, depending on how you want to divide them (Single Rope, Double Dutch, Chinese Wheel, Long Rope, Partner Jumping), there are also literally thousands of skills possible in Single Rope alone.
-
The sport is just plain fun and attracts dedicated coaches as well as athletes.
-
Freestyle and speed competition (and potentially artistic) is exciting for spectators.
The Sport - Its Hurdles
Before jump rope sport enthusiasts begin to solicit the International Olympic Committee for inclusion in the big event, however, I suspect that a number of elements need to fall in place.
-
Unfortunately, one of the strengths of jump rope - its inexpense - is also one of its weaknesses. Because even the best ropes are inexpensive ($5 to $20) very little money circulates through the sport to help develop its infrastructure, sponsor events, etc. The dedication of its coaches and athletes will help to continue to elevate the sport, but the changes will undoubtedly be slower than in other new sports like mountain biking where equipment can easily costs thousands of dollars.
-
The sport owes an incredible amount to the first generation of coaches who dedicated countless hours, energy, and their imagination to the sport and its athletes. Now we also need a new generation of coaches composed of former athletes to pick up the reins to be certain the sport continues to evolve.
-
Workshops and camps need to evolve beyond the raw teaching of different skills and begin to focus as well on the finer points of skill execution, advanced training methods, the incorporation of other disciplines, and other points. Otherwise, we will continue to lose a large percentage of older athletes as new challenges fail to materialize for them.
-
The sport needs to become organized in more countries. I'm not certain how many countries must have organized competition for a sport to be considered for the Olympics, but I'm sure that we are not there yet.
I'm sure that my little analysis is far from complete, and the future of the sport will probably take unforeseen twists and turns. As long as people enjoy jumping, throwing, wrapping, and whirling around a rope in different ways, however, the sport is here to stay.
To learn more about the sport, go to website of one of the organizations linked above or on my jump links page.
