By Joe Wiswell
The Boone Bouncers are a part of the growing international movement to make jumping rope into a major sport. They’ve been around the High Country since 2015, teaching kids 5 to 18 years old about the sport of jumping rope, and helping young people excel both athletically and socially. On August 6-8 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. they will be holding a summer camp to teach kids ages 5-17 jump roping skills and techniques.
While jumping rope is not a very well known sport, over the past decade it has become an international one with serious teams in many cities. The Durham based Bouncing Bulldogs, one of the most important teams in the state, recently returned from the world jump roping competition in Japan, where they placed highly. Jump roping competitions consist of several different events, including speed, which counts how many times a jumpers right foot hits the ground, power, where a jumper has to pass the rope under their feet several times every jump, and freestyle, which is a kind of dancing in and through a rope.
Earlier this summer the Boone Bouncers traveled to New York City for the Jump Forward Camp put on the Bouncing Bulldogs. The Boone Bouncers picked up a couple of awards at the workshop, including Juliet who earned the Growth Award.
While in New York, the Boone Bouncers put on several public performances, showcasing the strength and dexterity that serious jump roping requires. While jumping rope is a sport, it is also a performance in which people of all ages and skill levels can participate in. One of the great things about jumping rope, says Kyndy Boyle, the head coach, is that “no is left out, everyone is moving.”
The Boone Bouncers are equal parts sports team and performance group, and they want their impact on the High Country community to be wholistic. Coach Boyle, a physical therapist, touts the physical benefits of jumping rope: bone density, motor coordination, and cardiovascular fitness. But she also talks about how jumping rope teaches social skills, pushing young people to be more confident in performances and working with a team.
The camp will be August 6-8, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the Greenway Baptist Church Gym. For more information visit the Boone Bouncers website, linked here.
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