Getting a jump on their competition

Published 8:00 pm Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Bainbridge Island Ropeskippers shine at the season’s first tournament.

In sync, Anna Canfield and Lizzy Sharmon “pot stir” their jump ropes like cowgirls twirling lassos, but instead holding one end of their jump rope.

Then, with a crack of the free handle against the floor, it jumps into a waiting hand.

Canfield, a sophomore, and Sharmon, an eighth-grader, are veteran members of the Bainbridge Island Rope Skippers. Last week they were practicing their pairs freestyle routine for the invitational rope skipping tournament held last Saturday at Woodward Middle School.

It was the first tournament of the season, and the Bainbridge squad – 14 girls and boys, ages 8 to 22 – more than held their own against the 150 young competitors who came from around the U.S. and Canada.

The morning saw the islanders rank consistently high in the female speed events, which judge how many times a skipper or skipping team can jump in a given time, and power events, which require the skipper to swing the rope two or three times under each jump.

In the 11-and-under group, the team of Kelsey Gonwick, Ally Clement, Abigail Harrison and Emily Applewhite placed fourth in single-rope speed relay, with rookie Applewhite besting 21 other novice competitors to take second in the three-minute speed trials.

In the double-dutch speed competition – where two others swing a double set of ropes for their teammate – Applewhite, Gonwick and Emily Mather claimed fourth in the 11-under pairs, while fellow BI Ropeskippers Anna Canfield, Isabel Kuniholm, Lizzy Sharmon and Ali Maier jumped their way to a third-place spot in the 15-to-17-year-old double-dutch speed pairs. Kuniholm, Canfield and Maier also took fifth in the double-dutch relay for their age group.

The speed of the sport inspired 11-year-old Molly Harrison to do a school science project on the effect materials have on how fast ropes swing in 30 seconds. Regular rope, she found, swung at a snail-like 23.3 mph; the competition wire rope twirling on ball bearings clocked in at 39.8 mph.

Veteran skipper and Bainbridge High School senior Wendy Tawresey’s high score is 160 in a minute, that is, 320 jumps on alternating feet, or more than 5 jumps a second. And, BI Ropeskipper parent Bonnie Harrison adds, freestyle, rather than speed, is Tawresey’s forte.

In freestyle rope skipping, competitors must fulfill required elements and are judged on technical difficulty, much like gymnastics.

At practice on Monday afternoon, Tawresey coached jumper Ally Clement and her rope turner 8-year-old Abigail Harrison, who plays an integral role, having to vary rope speeds or stall the rope at the right times so the jumper can do her tricks.

That practice paid off at Saturday’s tournament, where Abigail Harrison and Isabel Vassiliadis took fourth place in the 11-and-under pairs freestyle competition, while Molly Harrison and Applewhite took fifth in the 12- to 14-year-old pairs. In the same age group, Sharmon’s solo performance placed her No. 2 in her field of 27 competitors.

Bainbridge rookies did exceptionally well in the female freestyle, with Gonwick, Applewhite and Ally Clement sweeping second through fourth place among the 11-and-under set.

“Ally was competing in gymnastics and was looking for a little break, and this lets her use some of her gymnastics skills,” said Donna Clement, mother of the fourth-grade novice skipper.

“She loves it,” Clement said. “It’s a little of the teamwork and team routines which she finds fun.”

Jumping spirit

Besides teaming for pairs or double dutch routines, the members also teach workshops and summer classes to earn money for competition travel and to share the sport with others.

Jumpers start out by taking classes taught by older students, and once they are ready may join the team.

“The joy of it is why they love it, and the multi-age function is a real attraction,” Harrison said. “This is their chance to interact with older girls and vice-versa. Teaching is one of the best ways to learn themselves. Young kids have mentors and they love that.”

Tawresey has been jumping since she was 6 years old with friends and family. She has competed at Nationals several times. She says besides the exercise, rope jumping has given her confidence.

“Especially before judges (performing) by yourself, it gives you a different level of confidence and you conduct yourself differently,” Tawresey said.

“At first I have butterflies, but halfway through, I’m feeding off the energy of the crowd and you remember you’re doing something amazing.”

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Find out more about ropeskipping workshops and classes by calling 842-2873.