In a blur of speed and blend of strength, stamina and agility, seven members of the River City Jumpers dazzled their audiences.
The competitive youth jump rope team from Grand Rapids was in town for a Thursday evening performance at the YMCA: Jump In T.C. Jump Rope Jamboree. Geared to children and families, this event drew nearly 200 attendees to not only watch but learn some moves themselves.
The next morning, the team demonstrated their skills to students at Glenn Loomis Elementary and Central Grade schools, again wowing all who watched.
The Every Step Counts program sponsored the team's visit, the finale of the program's three-year grant cycle whose goal was to increase the physical activity of children and improve their nutritional choices.
"We've now introduced many different types of activities for kids,” noted Patti Tibaldi, grant coordinator who is also the athletic director at Traverse City West Senior High School.
"I think it appeals to a different group, I think it is one of the best things for your heart,” added Tibaldi of jumping rope.
Individual jumpers on the River City team began the shows last week with moves including straddle jump, straddle cross, can-can, double under, side swing cross and leg under. Then the team demonstrated tricks that can be done with partners, including face to face, face to back, both in the rope, all around the world and traveler. They also presented moves from competition, including speed jumping, twist crosses and double under relay.
Before ending the program by inviting both students and teachers up for a spin under the rope, the River City Jumpers showed off their specialty: double Dutch.
"I love [jump rope], we do it here” said Megan Guvith, a fourth grade student at Glenn Loomis Elementary School, who particularly liked the up-tempo demo of double Dutch.
"We don't do double Dutch on the playground here but I'd like to learn,” she added. "I like going fast.”
Led by coach Jon Rose, who launched the River City Jumpers in 2004, the team competes in local, state and regional events from January to June. Last season, all 16 members of the team qualified for the nationals in Orlando, Fla.
Used to the pressure of speed, speed and more speed, the younger members of the group who visited the region broke new ground.
"For a lot of the kids, it was their first time to get up in front of a crowd, it's much different from a competition,” said Rose, a physical education teacher and athletic director at the Martin Luther King Leadership Academy in Grand Rapids. "At competitions, we go and we jump fast — a lot different from getting up in front of a crowd and doing a show.”
Rose unknowingly moved into the realm of competitive jumping ten years ago when he, tapping intense student interest, challenged another PE teacher to an informal jump rope face off among classes. This segued into forming a team that next became an elementary age demonstration team for the American Heart Association.
When someone at a school assembly suggested his team enter competitions, Rose looked into it and began taking the students to state and regional events. He eventually formed River City Jumpers as a non-profit organization separate from the Grand Rapids Schools. The team is geared to junior high and high school ages; the students who came to northern Michigan were 13-14 years old.
"We try to get the kids excited about jumping, it's healthy and fun,” Rose said "It's something you can do whether you're short or tall or heavyset, whether you're a girl or a boy. With so many sports, you know if you're not the best basketball player you don't get to play. We can have 50 kids on our team if we want.”