MISSOULA — The Montana Super Skippers are jumping onto the world stage - Kylee McCloney, Jordan McCloney, and Cameron Schmidt will join Team USA to compete at the World Jump Rope Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado from July 16 to July 23, 2023.
“We’ve put so much hard work into getting prepared for this tournament so it’s one of those feelings of like, ‘wow we actually did this. Like we made it here.’ Now we just get to go experience this world competition and do our best,” shared Kylee McCloney.
The Montana Super Skippers have been showcasing their gymnastic jump roping skills by performing at Griz basketball games, parades, fairs, and school events for over 40 years.
In addition, they host jump rope camps for Missoula kids.
McCloney got hooked on jump roping after seeing the Super Skippers perform when she was seven years old.
"After seeing the Super Skippers perform, I came home that day and said ‘Mom I want to sign up for this. This is the coolest thing ever.’"
Kylee, who was five at the time, heard her sister's excitement and was instantly amazed by the idea of jump roping. She was too young to join the team but that didn't stop her.
“I actually jumped outside the hallway watching them teach all these other kids. I would like run in the hall, try the trick, run back, see what they were working on.”
Rounding out the team is Schmidt, a University of Montana student who says that Super Skipping keeps her in shape for being in the National Guard.
“Speed stuff is definitely sort of in the zone like pushing yourself. I really like that about it where it’s sort of about how much pain you’re willing to endure and I think that’s really cool.”
Schmidt also enjoys the freestyle aspect of competing. She explained, "Freestyle is really the only place in my life I feel creative. So, I’d say that’s something really impactful to me about jump rope.”
Team USA will compete in both the speed and freestyle events at the World's tournament.
Speed is all about jumping as fast as you can for 3 minutes straight while freestyle is shorter and creatively choreographed.
The girls are eager to get to Colorado. For the McCloney sisters, this tournament marks the first time in many years that they will see a friend from Team Denmark.
This friend actually lived with the sisters as a foreign exchange student. During the exchange, Kylee said they would chat about the styles of jump roping in different places around the world.
"We would talk about our style of jump rope compared to hers. It’s drastically different. They’re still the same sport but the judging is different like the tricks that they commonly do are different.”
Being at the World competition will afford the girls the opportunity to learn from teams all over the globe and they're excited to see what each team has in their bag of tricks.
No matter what happens in the competition, the Skippers hope that those watching get inspired by the sport just like how it connected with them at a young age.
“It’s a sport for everybody and the other great thing about jump rope is that you can never stop improving. There’s no limit to how good you can be,” said Jordan McCloney.
When the Super Skippers come home from the competition, they will be hosting a week-long summer camp for Missoula kids. Maybe a few of them will become Super Skippers someday.
To watch the live stream of the tournament go to the International Jump Rope Union's website. Visit Montana Super Skippers for camp information.
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