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Student to compete internationally |
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008 |
by JILLIAN SWORDS
News Reporter
Jumping rope may be considered a child’s pastime for most, but for one Appalachian State University student, it has opened the doors to world travel and broadened horizons.
Junior electronic media/ broadcasting major Will H. Futch is a member of the organization Skipsations, based out of Chapel Hill, and has been jumping rope since fifth grade.
 Will H. Futch, a junior electronic media/broadcasting major, demonstrates some jump rope tricks like the ones he used in the national championship in jump roping. Photo by Jameykay Young |
Futch
was introduced to the activity through a school club. He found the
sport came naturally to him and began competing in middle school.
At
the U.S. Trials World Qualifier and South Africa Invitational Qualifier
in Mason, Ohio, last month, Futch and four others became eligible to
move on to the worldwide competition to take place this July.
The competition will include competitors from all continents except for Antarctica, Futch said.
The co-ed group Futch qualified with will compete as a team in South
Africa under the umbrella of the United States in the age 18 and up
division. However, the team will also compete against the other
American teams that qualified.
In the team division in the January qualifier, they placed second out
of 13 senior teams and the top three teams qualified, Futch said. He
also qualified to compete in the individual division.
The individual division is composed of four different events. A
freestyle routine, which Futch said the teams and individual jumpers
usually create themselves without the help of a coach, lasts between 45
seconds and a minute and 15 seconds.
This is judged on content, the number and quality of tricks and creativity, among other factors.
“Learning new tricks and trying to be as creative as possible” is what
Futch said keeps him on his toes and interested in the sport, besides
the perks of travel.
“I’ve gone to Australia for a world [competition],” Futch said. “We
went to Turkey last year and performed for the prime minister at a kids
fest in Istanbul [as a paying job]…I got to take a boat ride up the
Bosporus Strait, I visited the Blue Mosque …I’ve got friends all over
the [United States]…we’re like a close family [on the team].”
A three-minute speed routine is next, which simply counts the number of
jumps the competitor can complete in that length of time. This is
followed by the similar 30-second speed routine and the Triple Unders
routine, where the rope spins three times for each jump in the air,
Futch said.
For team events, a four-person single-rope routine is required, as are
a double-rope speed routine where the jumper alternates feet using two
ropes, a double-dutch tricks freestyle and a single-rope partner
routine.
Before competitions, Futch said his team practices four days a week in
two-hour increments. If preparing for a competition while at school, he
practices on his own two hours a day, six days a week.
“It’s a lot of cardiovascular exercise,” Futch said. “Requires a lot of
endurance, coordination… There are a lot of gymnastic elements
[involved in the tricks].”
Freshman physical education major Cindy K. Melton is also member of
Skipsations. While not part of the team going to the world competition
this year, she competed in one two years ago in Toronto, Canada, and
her team won a gold medal for their age group.
Melton said she has been competing for 10 years. While time consuming
and stressful, she said the commitment is definitely worthwhile.
“I love learning new things. The possibilities are endless with so many
tricks,” she said. “I love meeting new people, I love traveling, I love
pushing myself to see how good I can do.”
Melton hopes to eventually carry the hobby into a career in some capacity.
“It’s something where you want to be involved in the sport as long as you can,” she said. “Maybe I’ll even be a coach.”
Futch said the sport has it’s obvious perks, but he remains unsure about what role it will play in his future.
“I’m just trying to ride it out as far as it goes,” Futch said.
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